lay down your weapons and fight
by Endles
Summary: This is a story about how a boy meets a boy— and also a girl, and some pokémon, and eventually a whole lot of other people that may or may not be significant. But mostly it's about the two boys. / a slowburn Gold/Silver fic detailing their first adventure together. May contain teenage vulgarity and dank memes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Their story starts with a series of mistakes.

Firstly, he's heading to the lab to see what the professor wants, but gets distracted by a mop of vibrant red hair. He likes the color, he's even wearing his favorite, similarly toned hoodie. So like a moth to a flame, he's drawn to it.

That's mistake number one.

The second comes right after.

He walks up to the boy with red hair and announces his presence with a loud greeting, followed by puzzled questions as he realizes the boy is totally spying on Professor Elm through a window. The boy is startled, flustered even, and counters by yelling at him to "stop creeping up on people like a freak" and unceremoniously punches him. This leaves Gold shocked, insulted, and with an aching shoulder, because the boy used a lot more force than he looks capable of. So, instead of doing the smart thing and going his way, he presses on.

They end up in the lab, bruised and humiliated and being lectured on by the professor about proper behavior, which evidently doesn't include getting into fistfights right by his doorstep. The red head tries to slip out more than once, but Elm is like a hawk when he wants to. He adamantly makes them apologize to each other until he deems the apologies sincere.

"Good enough," he mutters after the fifth try and both boys slump in relief. "But that's not all. I think you need to learn something else too. And for that I'm going give you a little present."

They both pipe up at the word 'present'.

"Now, you must understand that there is a catch. You see, I'll be entrusting you both with a pokémon, but only on the condition that you learn to work together, and learn when it's alright to fight and when you need to back down." Elm pierces them with his gaze. "Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," they reply with lowered heads.

The professor smiles for the first time since pulling them apart on the yard. "Good. Now then, since you're going to be spending quite some time together, I suggest you get to know each other."

The red haired boy offers Gold a grimace. Gold swallows the angry retort that threatens to fall from his lips.

"Name's Gold," he says and offers his hand.

It takes the other a while to take it and even then it's with visible distaste.

"Silver."

His grip is firm and his voice really nice, now that he's not yelling. Gold feels a small shudder run through his back as he catches gray eyes. Then he hears himself asking if the boy wants to have a sleepover in preparation for their journey and distantly catches the affirmative response.

Inviting him over is one more mistake, doubled by the fact that Silver is an ass the whole evening, only feigning innocence before Gold's mother, and he _definitely_ nicks Gold's favorite charizard figurine. Gold never gets it back.

-x-

They get their pokémon the next day―him, Silver, and a pigtailed girl named Kris, whom Gold has seen more than a couple of times at school but doesn't really know. She seems really nice though, a bit shy but friendly enough. Together they head out to the world, towards Route 29 and beyond.

Silver disappears before twenty minutes have passed.

Kris very nearly starts panicking and wants to alert grownups so they can look for him. Her plan is smart and sensible, but Silver's just not worth it. On Gold's insistence they push forward without him. They fight wild pokémon, even catch a few: a sentret for Kris, and a sleeping hoothoot for Gold. They reach Cherrygrove before it's even dark, and just as they're checking in to the pokécenter Silver turns up again.

"Where did you run off to?" Kris asks him when they're seated around a table in the cafeteria. "We were worried."

Since Silver's only response is a silent shrug, Gold points out that he hadn't been worried in the least. That earns him a glare, at least. The mood remains slightly awkward all throughout their evening meal although Gold tries his best to ease them into a conversation. Kris talks very little and Silver barely anything, so it's obviously a thrilling success.

Afterwards, as they're heading to their rooms, Gold notices something odd.

"Hey, Silv," he calls out.

Silver stops and turns angrily. "That sounds fucking dumb, stop it."

"You have new shoes," Gold says ignoring him. "Nice, where'd you get them?"

"None of your business," Silver replies and resumes walking.

Gold jogs after him. "C'mon, tell me. I could use a new pair, too."

Silver humphs.

Gold keeps bugging him until he gives in.

"Some old bugger gave them to me, alright!" He practically shouts. "I dunno why, stop being an idiot and buzz off."

Then he opens the door to his room, steps in and slams the door in his face. Gold stands there flabbergasted for a whole minute, before he realizes he's supposed to be sharing the room with Silver. He pounds on the door at least ten minutes until the boy lets him in.

The next morning Silver has run off again. Gold's not all that surprised as he gets dressed and eats some breakfast. All in all, he had kinda expected that. Kris meets him outside the center. She seems a bit odd, but Gold shrugs it off. Everything is going to be fine in no time with just the two of them.

As they're making their way through the city Gold spots an old man sitting on a bench. A strange urge makes him step towards him and ask if he's met a ginger with a permanent scowl on his face. It could've been any old man; in fact the odds were greatly against him. But the man laughs and says that he indeed has met someone matching that description, in fact he had caught him trying to steal his shoes.

"Really?" Gold asks in astonishment. Not because he doesn't believe Silver would steal something from an old man, because he totally would, but because the man seems so relaxed about it. "What did you do, then?"

"I gave them to him," he replies with a smile. "If you treat people with kindness they'll start believing in it and following the example. In his case, it might take some time but I'm positive he'll come around eventually."

Gold really doubts he will, but keeps quiet.

-x-

Reaching Violet takes longer, two nights on the road and a chance encounter with the famous professor Oak. Once they get there, they're both exhausted. Still, the first thing Kris wants to do, after they both register for a match in the local gym, is check out the Trainer School. Gold would rather not, so they decide to split up and meet at the pokécenter for dinner. With nothing better to do, Gold heads to the Sprout Tower.

The monks are cool and they teach him a few very good lessons on how to treat your pokémon better. What's not so cool is that he runs into Silver. The boy buggers off almost immediately after, but it leaves him irritated enough as it is. He decides not to tell Kris about it.

They end up spending almost a week in Violet City, because of their scheduled gym battles. Fortunately, they both manage to beat Falkner on their first tries. They celebrate by buying ice cream for themselves and imported poffins for their pokémon. Just as they're preparing to leave the city for good, they catch Kris' father, one of Elm's aides, who entrusts Kris with a recently discovered pokémon egg.

They make a short visit to the Ruins of Alph, before continuing on their way through Route 32 and the Union Cave which is a gloomy experience for them both. Gold rather thinks that all those hikers and maniacs who like to spend their time underground must have more than a few screws loose. It definitely doesn't make the situation any better when upon reaching Route 33 and the outskirts of Azalea Town it's raining and there's something fishy going on at the Slowpoke's Well.

Then there is Kurt and apparently Team Rocket, or what's left of it, and they help in taking down an illegal slowpoke tail trafficking business. And to top the cake, afterwards they find Silver lurking about around Azalea gym. Gold gets ridiculously angry for the boy's dismissive comments about Team Rocket and the threat they pose. Silver gets angry at Gold for being a loser who's trying to play a hero. Gold punches him in the nose. Silver kicks him. Kris forces them apart by ordering her newly caught poliwag to spray them with bubblebeam.

That night they sleep in separate rooms, although Gold suspects that Kris spends her evening in Silver's before slipping out after midnight. He definitely doesn't give a damn. If Kris is so sweet on the red-haired jerk, she can right well marry him for all Gold cares.

The next day Silver's still there. It's the first surprise among many. The second is when he suggests they settle their differences with a pokémon battle. Gold accepts warily―he doesn't know what Silver's up to, but it can't be anything good.

He proceeds to beat Silver's croconaw with his quilava, and Silver storms off spouting about his pokémon being weak and useless. Gold doesn't feel any better about it. Still, the redhead is back by nightfall and Kris seems to be pleased about something neither of the boys can comprehend.

Every one of them visits the gym at some point during the week and all three manage to gain a new badge. Gold also gains a new team mate, a feisty little heracross that's too brave for its own good. It just rolls out of the tree, ready to battle, when Quilava accidentally headbutts its nest while training. After being caught and released out of its ball for the first time it very nearly clamps its pincers onto Silver's ankle, causing the boy to yelp and fall flat on his ass. Gold barely suppresses his laugh, avoiding Silver's glares for the rest of the day while feeding extra berries to the beetle whenever he has the chance. It's safe to say that he loves the little bugger to death from the first moment on.

They leave right after Gold's match, heading towards Ilex Forest together. Silver's still not showing any signs of leaving, which Gold finds odd beyond all. He spends his time pestering the boy with questions and comments, rarely receiving answers, but surprisingly neither of them feels too irritated. He's even starting to get used to Silver's presence, grinning in his company because he feels like it, rather than out of habit. And if he's not seeing things, there might even be a small smile on the other boy's lips that keeps coming back despite his best attempts at scowling.

Gold starts to think there might be some hope for them, after all.

-x-

Right before Goldenrod, he suddenly remembers something important.

"Oh shit," Gold exclaims, causing Silver to very nearly drop the pokéball he's been tossing in the air for a good ten minutes while they've walked. "I mean― ack, damn it… I need to make a call. Like, right now."

Without further explanation he shuffles out of hearing range, leaving behind a puzzled Kris and an annoyed Silver, who's more or less glaring daggers at him. Gold digs out his pokégear and dials a familiar number.

It rings just once before a cheerful, bubbly voice fills his ear: _"Gold! It's been forever since you called!"_

Gold laughs. "I know, Ly, I know… I've been a bit busy lately, with stuff I'd rather show you. I hope you're at home hmm… today?"

 _"You're coming to Goldenrod?"_ Lyra practically squeals. _"Oh gosh, of course I'm at home! I'd love to meet up!"_

"That's great," the boy grins. "But, uh, there're actually a few guys coming with me, I hope that's alright?"

" _Sure, sure… if they're with you, I'm sure they're nice people."_ Gold grimaces as Silver crosses his mind. _"Well, I look forward to meeting you all, then!"_

"Yeah, I'll see you!" He hangs up the call and jogs back to Kris and Silver, who are sporting almost identical frowns. Clearly they are spending too much time in each other's company.

"What was that all about?" The girl asks.

"There's someone I'd like to visit while we're here…" Gold starts out. "Her name is Lyra and she's a friend of mine, who used to live in New Bark before moving to her grandparents' house right outside Goldenrod. They actually run a pokémon day care, so maybe it could be an interesting experience for you guys too?"

He ends the explanation with a hopeful note. Silver and Kris share a look. Kris silently raises an eyebrow and the boy shrugs. She smiles.

"It's fine," she says. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

Gold grins and hopes for the best. Hopes against all odds that Silver won't be a jerk.

What he fails to hope for, is that he himself won't be one too.

-x-

The fields between Ilex Forest and the metropolis are riddled with trainers looking for a good fight or some other form of excitement. However, there seems to be some power in numbers and the people mainly leave the three of them alone. Or perhaps it's the way Silver keeps glaring at anyone who comes closer than ten feet―Gold is nevertheless thankful for the peace and quiet, which allows them to move forward at a leisurely pace.

As such, it takes them the better part of the day to reach Lyra's grandparents' day care center. Gold calls ahead to warn her once he spots the building in the distance, and when they're finally at the gate the familiar brunette girl is already out on the yard, waiting with a big grin on her face.

"Oh my Arceus," she calls out, jogging over to open the gate and pull Gold into a surprisingly tight hug coming from someone her size. "Gold, you're like a tree!" She squeals. "Didn't I tell you to stop growing last time I visited?"

Gold in turn laughs. "We can't all stay tiny little teddiursas like you, Ly."

The girl scoffs and playfully punches him in the forearm, before turning to greet the other two trainers. Kris looks friendly enough, while Silver's face is decorated by his usual scowl. Gold feels a tick of annoyance, watching him. Couldn't he at least pretend to be a bit less of a dick than he is? Maybe Gold should've paid him to do that, for Lyra's sake.

"You must be Gold's traveling buddies, then," Lyra says offering her hand first to Kris and then Silver. She shakes it, like normal people only should. _He_ doesn't, hiding his hand inside his pockets instead. Gold feels a storm cloud settle above his head, glaring at Silver in warning.

He's been so well-mannered these past few days, or as well-mannered as he believes Silver to be capable of. Gold would even go so far as to suggest that the boy had actually been good company all throughout their journey through the forest, going along with Gold's ideas even when he wanted to tell spooky stories one night, while Kris kept blocking her ears and telling them they were both being hideously cruel. The night had ended with Kris moving her sleeping bag as far from theirs as she dared, what with all the strange tales she'd already been forced to hear, and Gold and Silver sharing a small conspiratorial smirk. Gold cannot for the life of him understand why Silver must be such a jerk-face _now_ , of all times, when he's already proven that he doesn't necessarily _have_ to be.

"It really is nice to meet you," Kris says after introducing herself. "And I'm awfully sorry we've all barreled here on such a short notice. I would've reminded Gold to call a lot sooner, had I known we'd be taking a stop here."

She flicks Gold a meaningful look that speaks volumes on how big of a pleb she believes him to be, forgetting to both mention _and_ call on ahead that they would be visiting. Gold feels appropriately chastised, but also a little irked. It's not like it's any of her business, really.

"Oh no, it's no bother at all," Lyra assures the girl. "I mean, this is Gold we're talking about. I'm honestly impressed he remembered to call before he was right outside the door!"

Lyra laughs so brightly that Kris _has_ to join in. Gold tries to appear sheepish, but comes off as much too amused. He's not really embarrassed by this particular short-coming of his, so it's okay for the girls to bond over their shared exasperation. He'd expected them to get along almost the moment he met Kris, but it's still good his gut-feeling had been spot-on.

That only leaves him one problem to deal with. That is―

"So," Lyra drawls out right then. "Who're you?"

Silver glares―fucking _glares_ ―and somebody has got to teach him some basic manners one of these days. Gold is about two seconds from either telling him as much, or simply decking him, when the redhead surprises him by grumbling out his name and some appropriate greeting along with a curt nod.

Lyra accepts it all with a slightly quizzical grin, before swirling around and announcing that they should all head inside for Granny's cooking and that afterwards Gramps would be more than happy to show them around and answer any questions they might have. Everyone trails after her, nearly ecstatic at the prospect of an authentic home-cooked meal. Even Silver's scowl seems to mellow down and once they're seated around the table, being served platefuls of steaming hot stew, he actually smiles. Gold thinks that there must be some truth to that saying about the road to a man's heart being through his stomach.

Then again, even Silver can't be that much of an asshole that he'd insult Lyra's grandmother's stew. Or stupid enough to risk a free meal by doing so. Whichever his motivations are, Gold's glad he's being a bit less of a bitch than initially.

Of course, he's too early in celebrating, because once they're done with the food and move onto touring the day care center, Silver becomes his usual charming self. He keeps glaring at Lyra and her grandfather, who take turns telling amusing anecdotes featuring passing trainers or the pokémon they've left in their care. His look turns especially sour after they reach the baby ward, where they're greeted with the sight of newly hatched sentrets and their proud furret mother.

Lyra's in the middle of telling the story of their birth to a totally enamored-by-the-babies Kris, when Gold hears Silver scoff and suddenly decides he's had enough of whatever this is.

"Hey," he calls out gruffly but quietly as he slides next to the red head, jabbing him with an elbow. The girls haven't noticed yet and if he plays it cool, he can maybe keep it that way. If they're immune to Silver's particular brand of douchebaggery, he's perfectly happy to spare them the misery. "You've been acting real prissy all evening… what _is_ your problem?"

Silver fixes him a heated glare, not like Gold hasn't seen enough of those for a lifetime. "You're my problem," snaps the boy. "You and this useless detour of yours. Just get out of my face."

And yeah, okay, Gold was going to be mature about this but that really takes the cake on tonight's "How Much of a Prick Can Silver Be?" -competition. He can feel his resolve snap, loud and clean, like a fake out. So, he bristles and plainly tells Silver to stop being such an ass and besides, he should be a bit more grateful and maybe even listen to what Lyra and her Grandpa are telling them, because Arceus knows Silver could learn a thing or two about raising pokémon if his lackluster battle performance is anything to go by.

Silver goes very silent and turns very red, as red as his hair, which is kind of a telling warning sign that he's about to blow (and also a rather lovely shade, if thinking _purely_ about the aesthetic). Then he proceeds to loudly tell him how much of an idiot Gold is to suggest that. This effectively garners the girls' attention and Gold swears under his breath, holding his ground, and thanks whatever powered beings that Lyra's Grandpa has stepped out of the room and is therefore not here to witness the outburst.

"―and besides, how many competent trainers rely on day care?" Silver's sneering, turning to throw Lyra a mocking look. "Say, how many gym leaders have you had as clients? How about League members? Qualifying contestants who want to power up their team for the championships?"

"Um," Lyra says, brows furrowed. "None, but that's―"

"There," Silver crows triumphantly, eyes ablaze. "You keep spouting all that nonsense about caring for your pokémon, but that's not how you become strong, is it? That's not how you rise above the rest. That's all through being tough and working hard and pushing yourself and your pokémon to the limits. Love and affection and sitting around playing with furry critters and other shit, that's only for children and fairy tales." As he finishes, his voice is so bitter it's almost dripping with it. "We're wasting our time here."

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that?" Gold asks. He's really so done with Silver and his moods. So what if the guy can't handle having feelings, he should learn to not take it out on others. "A totally _blind_ idiot. This is _exactly_ what you need to get your pokémon to listen to you, to like you so that they'd maybe actually want to battle for you, but if you're too busy being a _jealous bitch_ 'cause no one's ever liked you, then I can't help you."

He gives a mirthless laugh, shaking his head. "And the best part is, I bet you're _glad_ that I can't. You think whatever's happened to you to make you a dick has also made you all- _fucking_ -mighty so that you don't need others, but guess what, Silver? You need help like the rest of us. Someday you're gonna realize that, but there won't be anyone left to help you, 'cause you've discarded all your friends like the trash you think they are."

Distantly he can hear Kris gasp as silence falls upon them like a ton of bricks. Unlike the last time, all color has drained from Silver's face and the contrast between his vibrant hair and pale skin is enough to make him look weirdly ethereal and―

"Fuck. _Off_." Silver says very slowly, each of the two words like a knife piercing right through Gold's skin as he abruptly, with a painful clarity, realizes just how far he's gone.

By that point Silver has already stormed out of the room, and Gold moves on autopilot, jogging after him, calling his name, but it's no use. He stops by the gate, but Silver just keeps going, down the road, further and further away from the apology that's on the tip of Gold's tongue, right next to some more accusations.

Kris throws Gold a look that's more than a bit angry and keeps running after the red head.

"You're unbelievable," she mumbles coldly, as she passes him. Gold feels about ready for the world to swallow him whole. He desperately wants sit down and wallow in his own misery.

Lyra walks next to him, carefully brushing against his arm. "That was…" Her face is a mix of irritation and confusion. "I don't even know. What's his problem, anyway?"

"Could you get me some water?" Gold mumbles. "Please."

The girl regards him curiously for a second before walking inside to fetch a glass. She returns far too soon for Gold's liking, but the water is cool and wonderful, and his thoughts feel much clearer after he's downed it all. He mentally maps all his current feelings.

Firstly, he still feels awful, but not as much. Maybe he crossed a line he shouldn't have, yes, but Silver riled him up pretty good by pulling Lyra into the argument and acting derogatory as he did and―

That leads him to his second thought, which is that he's still pretty furious. Horrified by his own cruelty, but furious. Who does Silver think he is? And why would Kris take his side like that? At least Lyra has always been his friend, no matter what.

"I think I wanna stay here tonight," Gold mutters.

"You're perfectly welcome," Lyra chirps. "But will they be coming too? I'm not too sure about that."

Gold glances at the road. Neither Silver nor Kris is anywhere to be seen, having disappeared to the direction of uptown Goldenrod City.

"Nah," he replies and gets up. "I don't think they'll be coming."

-x-

He finds Kris at the pokécenter the next morning. Unsurprisingly, Silver's not with her. Surprisingly though, he appears from the men's room two minutes into Gold and Kris' conversation, only to spot Gold, scowl, turn right on his heels and storm off in the opposite direction.

 _Let the prissy princess go_ , Gold thinks, deciding that despite the sting in his chest he doesn't give a damn. Kris however, elbows him rather forcefully.

"You go after him and _apologize_ ," she hisses sharply. "He's gonna run off on his own if you don't."

Gold's not sure why that's so bad―Silver _clearly_ wants to be left alone, since he's so keen on ditching them at any given turn―but Kris just pushes him off.

He runs. Apparently, Silver wasn't expecting him to be that into catching him and so Gold manages to corner him on a narrow street behind the center in no time. The boy looks pissed off―what else is new―but also maybe kinda… hurt? And like, not in the 'I am Silver the all mighty, how dare you tell me off for being a self-righteous prick'-way but in the more subtle and frightened, 'I know I fucked up but you fucked up too and I really don't know if you know it'-way.

Gold swallows and thinks about his options. He could push Silver away like the little bundle of anger and hurt inside him keeps telling him to do. Or he could be the bigger person and apologize.

Briefly, he remembers the old man from Cherrygrove and, though he still doesn't trust it to work one-hundred-percent, decides to try his advice. Besides, isn't that kinda what he yelled at Silver about, being nice to others? He should try and practice what he preaches, even if Silver does his best to make it very hard.

"Hey," he mumbles, unsure how to begin. Silver grants him a wary glance. Gold stalls for a moment longer before taking the tauros by its horns. He's never been good at being _anything_ but frank. "I'm sorry I called you… well, all those things. I don't mean it, really. It's just… hard to not lash out when you… damn." He cuts himself off before he _does_ lash out. "It's hard to not answer in kind, y'know. I try to be nice and all, but you seem to hate me… and um…"

"I―I don't hate you."

Silver's words come as a silent surprise.

"I really don't," he repeats. Gold eyes him skeptically. "I mean we're not fucking best friends, but I don't have reason to hate you yet." The 'yet' makes Gold's eyebrows jump higher towards his hairline, but Silver keeps going without a pause now that he's managed to crack the dam open. "But you keep trying to smother all these ideas at me and act like all I need to do is look at things your way when you don't know half the things I've seen and it's― _fuck._ "

It's now Silver's turn to swear and collect his thoughts. Gold lets him do so in peace, not wanting to interrupt too soon.

"It's―it's a bit like I said yesterday, except different context," he finally begins anew. Gold is a bit surprised at how calm they both are, even as Silver's explanation continues. "You wouldn't take me half as seriously if I was all fucking joy and sunshine, and you can't prove me wrong. So, it's like… do I hate you? Well, no. But do I like you? Who freaking knows, and what does it matter even if I did, cause if I want people to respect me it wouldn't change how I act. What does it matter if I like you or not, it won't help you get anywhere or anything, and neither will it help me. In fact, the whole liking people, getting attached, letting it show… it's a damn sure way to get yourself hurt."

He releases a sight that's as dreary as it's bitter. "The only way to make it in this world is to take what you need and never stop moving forward."

Silver looks honestly tired. There are bags beneath his eyes and his shoulders are sagged as he moves to the side to lean against the wall. Gold swallows and thinks about his words.

"That's not―" he tries, cutting the sentence off before he has the chance to sound like an asshole, _again_. He reforms it in his mind before trying again. "I seriously _do_ see your point. Maybe not completely, but I do understand where you're getting at. And likewise, there are things you're not really taking into account when you say that you need to keep others away to gain their respect."

Silver, who had closed his eyes momentarily, cracks one open and peers at him from underneath his bangs. His hair is a disheveled mess, makes him look all roguish like those misunderstood heroes in second-rate romantic fantasy novels. Gold holds his gaze and tries to sound certain.

"That's really not how you get people to trust you," he says carefully. "Not how you get them to respect you. You can't force them by acting in a certain way. You actually need to let you real feelings show for that to happen, even if you risk yourself in doing that. If you only keep running away from people and using them to reach your own means, you'll reach the end of your line far too soon. I don't think you really want to be an asshole all the time. I've spent time with you and whenever you're not stressed, whenever you don't feel the pressure, you're… actually really cool to be around. And that's what you should realize."

He pauses to break their eye contact and lean against the wall next to Silver.

"I mean, think of Kris. She doesn't need anything from you, but she seems to trust you. Do you really wanna hurt her by keeping her away? Cause if you do, I haven't noticed. Actually, you almost seem to be acting nice towards her. And how's that working out for you? I'd say fine. Just like with Kris, with the rest of the world, you gotta stop, pause, and pay some attention to what's around you. If you do that, people _will_ notice you."

He falls silent at that and they take their time, staring at the opposite wall. There's a poster for some already past Pokéathlon Tournament plastered on it, and Gold wastes a few minutes simply mapping the details. Then he hears Silver hum deep and low, thoughtful and perhaps a tad melancholic.

"I don't really know," the boy mutters. "I just can't see it."

For whatever reason, right then and there Gold is struck by the a great sensation of longing. Like he wants to cradle Silver in his arms and never let go, even though that's a fucking dumb thought and he doesn't even like Silver enough to hug him, so there must be something wrong with his head.

He clears his throat.

"Well, you never will, if you don't try. And I know that sounds like a damn cliché, but it's true. So maybe… let's put this behind us, and I'll be less on your ass and you'll try to be less _of_ an ass, and we'll stay together for the kids. Or, you know, Kris."

Silver snorts. "When you put it like that, how can I say no?"

"See," Gold chuckles. "It's not so bad."

They hang around on the alley for a few more minutes, before Gold's pokégear starts ringing and breaks the peaceful lull they'd fallen into. Kris is asking where he is and whether he'd found Silver, and Gold assures her they'll be back at the pokécenter in a minute, which then means that they have to get a move on to be able to keep that promise. Even so, the return trip is a lot less hectic than the chase from before and they make the way in comfortable, if not quite companionable, silence. Kris looks absolutely thrilled and more than little relieved when they finally turn up, and she makes Silver promise that he'll stop running off like that or she'll install a tracker on his bag. Silver doubts her capability of doing so and Kris warns him not to test her, while Gold braves a small chuckle. Nothing explodes.

Somehow, it feels like he's been let off the hook two times now. Two times Silver should've left and two times he stayed. Gold only wishes the third time won't be any different.

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** hello everyone! I've been out of fanfiction business for a while (a _long_ while), but now I'm back with a story about Silver and Gold! It follows the plot of the games but it's slightly au, as you probably noticed. I also want to warn, that the characters are teenagers (15-16) and they tend to be crude and politically incorrect, and mostly nothing they say represents the author's true opinions on whichever matter.

This was supposed to be like 5k long before it got _wildly out of hand_. There's gonna be maybe seven or eight chapters (I'm not quite done yet, but I'm at around 40k right now), which I've written between 2014-2017, so the quality may vary. Nevertheless, I hope you'll stick around for the ride! As always, please enjoy and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Time passes. They end up spending a considerable while in Goldenrod, enjoying everything the city has to offer. They visit the bug catching contest, Gold catching himself a sunkern that he's able to able to evolve immediately with the sunstone he finds, and purely by chance meet Bill Sonezaki, the inventor of the pokémon storage system, from whom Kris receives an eevee. Eventually, after a long wait, they challenge Whitney's gym, and manage to leave the big city behind. For a long time things remain kind of awkward, but not unbearably so. Not so much that Gold wants to suffocate himself with the pillow every time he lies down for the night. He certainly doesn't. And neither does he harbor any murderous fantasies of doing the same to Silver.

OK, so _maybe_ it's more than a small miracle that they reach Ecruteak City without any casualties.

After that though, the mood sort of tones down. Gradually everything becomes easier. Gold catches a sudowoodo, they all train their pokémon, visit the Gym and the Burnt Tower. Kris has a fateful meeting with both a legendary beast and a young man _far_ too enthusiastic about said beast. That night Gold might say a few choice words about people who are obviously _too_ interested in pokémon and Silver _might_ try to suppress a laugh―and fail miserably. The whole thing seems very unreal until a few days later the red head definitely chuckles at Gold's comments about miltank farming and he has to admit that Silver actually _has_ a sense of humor. And not only that, but he can also appreciate Gold's jokes, which is, really, not all that common to tell the truth.

And that― _that_ is what really sets the wheels in motion. Because most people, like Kris for example, just end up either confused and/or disgusted by Gold's attempts at making them laugh. But not Silver, the guy he'd been fast to dismiss as a human shaped mood killer. Shaken to his very core by this revelation, Gold wows to watch Silver more closely from then on. It certainly seems that it isn't enough to just try to be civil―he needs to open his own mind, much like he'd told Silver to do, to the possibility that spending time with him might be not only tolerable but _fun_.

And maybe he'd already seen an example of that during their time in Ilex Forest, but that had been such a short while and stopped so abruptly that in his mind it had turned into a kind of hazy memory, none too believable. It was time to see if he could make himself believe again, time to try it once more with feeling.

He decides to start out small, part because he doesn't know how Silver will react to the idea of actively spending more time with him, part because―well, it's not like Gold's ever had too many friends. He's always been loud and bubbly, but kinda easy to rile up, and so people liked him enough for a short while before they either got tired or got into a fight with him. Lyra had been his friend the longest, mostly because she was impossible to stay mad at, even if they sometimes got into fights.

So he might've been afraid of rejection, not a big deal. Silver was much the same, he'd already figured that much out. Maybe they could try out this friendship thing together. Gold would learn how to keep people happy and Silver would learn that he didn't need to push others away. Win-win.

He puts his theory into practice by plopping down next to Silver around the campfire the next evening. Kris has wandered off in search of more branches, and Silver's writing his diary, or whatever it is he does in the evenings with that notepad of his. Actually, he should probably show some interest in that. It would be a good place to start. Not too personal, right? Just showing that he's noticed something about the boy's habits, like a considerate teammate only should.

Now, if he can only choose his words right and not scare the boy off.

"Hey, Silv…er," Gold greets, barely reminding himself on time that the boy doesn't like the way he abbreviates his name. Silver's only response is a brief glance and a raised eyebrow before he returns his attention to his scribbling. "Whatcha doing? I've seen scratching in that notebook of yours quite a lot. Keeping a travel journal, are ya?"

That was… good, wasn't it?

Silver makes a unintelligible noise in his throat. It doesn't reassure Gold one bit.

"Something like that," the redhead mutters, sounding little less than sincere.

Gold fights down the swell of irritation. Baby steps, he reminds himself, and reaches down to scratch an itchy spot on his ankle. He'd accidentally walked into a nettle bush that morning. Silver had laughed then, as Gold had sworn his way to moon and back. The guy was such a happy cupcake, really.

"Cool," he says, wondering what to do next. He kinda wants to call Silver out on his bullshit, but it's probably a bad idea. Still, besides that, he can't really think of any good topic. It seems that in his mind he'd actually hoped for more co-operation from the boy's part, so this reaction is a bit disheartening.

Behind them, Gold's quilava growls and butts its head against his back as if sensing his distress. Gold smiles and reaches back to scratch the badger-like creature behind its ears. At least his pokémon had been easy to befriend. And they would never judge him for his wacky jokes.

Quilava whines happily, butting him again.

"You want a treat, don't ya?" Gold laughs at the responding affirmative noise. "Alright, you big glutton. But don't blame me if you get fat."

He scoots a bit to the left, reaching for his bag and the fancy case of pokéblocks he'd purchased from the Goldenrod Department Store. Quilava follows his movements with its eyes in silent anticipation. Gold cracks the lid open and pulls out a few of the blue blocks that Quilava seems especially fond of.

"Here ya go," he says, offering the badger some. It eagerly snatches the treats from his hand, munching happily. Gold chuckles, packing the treat case away where it belongs. "And not a word to the rest, ya hear? I don't want to be accused of favoritism."

Quilava growls and scuttles a little further off with its price.

Gold leans back, raising his gaze to the night sky. Stars are blinking down at him, forming constellations he's never bothered to learn. Maybe he will, now that he keeps staring up at them almost every night.

Speaking of staring, only then does he notice the weight of someone's eyes on him. He looks down and catches Silver, who's just a second too slow in averting his eyes. Gold raises his brows.

"What's up?" He says, then grins at something he thought up. "Other than the sky, I mean."

Silver groans, but Gold swears his lips quirk slightly up. _Score_. "Oh, shut up."

"Gladly, if you'll show me that diary of yours. Have you written anything about me? I bet every other entry is whining about how much you hate that Gold, so much nicer and more handsome than you."

He's really pushing his luck, but fortunately Silver only snorts, amused rather than insulted, and holds his notebook a bit closer to himself. "Yeah, you wish."

Gold snickers, and a comfortable silence falls between them. He thinks about whether or not he should keep pushing for some details, when the decision is made for him by the return of Kris. The girl dumps down a pile of dry sticks, and proceeds to stoke the fire. Then she looks up, eyes landing on Silver, hunched over his book.

"Are you still drawing that one portrait?" She asks conversationally, as if asking about the weather.

" _Drawing?_ " Gold croaks, nearly snapping his neck with how fast he turns to gape at Silver. Silver, on the other hand, looks like he wants to throw his book at Kris' head. Or into the fire. Gold scrambles to his feet to block both targets from his line of sight. "Now you really gotta show me!"

"Oh piss off," Silver grumbles, snapping the book shut. There's a strain to his expression, one that wasn't there before even when Gold was trying to get him to show off his mystery journal. It confuses him for a second and half until it dawns on him that Silver must actually care about drawing, enough to carry that sketchbook around for as long as he has. And apparently he trusts Kris enough to let her into his secret, but now he's afraid Gold will―what? Make fun of him?

It's probably a valid concern, Gold has to admit. He's got a foot in his mouth more often than not.

"C'mon, Silver," he tries with a hopefully good-natured smirk. "I can't even draw a recognizable pikachu. You're better than that, surely."

Silver still looks a bit uncertain, but he huffs an amused little breath and eases his grip on the book just a little. "You shouldn't show off unfinished work."

Gold bites back a laugh. "I won't tell anyone."

Silver snorts once more and, slowly, holds out the sketchbook for Gold to take. He accepts it with a small smile, moving to sit back down next to Silver. Once seated he opens the book. And feels his eyes nearly bulge out with how wide they go.

"Holy _fucking_ ―" He snaps his mouth closed, preventing more expletives from falling out. But really, what else can he say? He flips through the pages, one by one, inspecting each and every landscape and portrait for a good long while. He seriously can't _not_ , because they're the best drawings he's ever seen in his life. Finally, he comes to the latest page, the one Silver was working on just a while ago. It's a beautiful portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder length hair and wrinkles by her eyes. Something about her seems oddly familiar, as if Gold had seen someone almost but not quite like her in real life.

Kris, who has crept to sit next to him while he's been engrossed by Silver's artwork, bends down closer to have a better look. "It's coming along really nicely. Is this something you made up again?"

Silver shrugs. "Something like that."

Gold has heard that response enough times―already once tonight, even―to know that it's Silver-speak for "I'm telling a huge fucking lie right now". He crunches his brows, noting all the amazing details on her features and something clicks at last.

"Is this… your mother?" He asks, slowly lifting his eyes from the picture to watch Silver's reaction.

The boy pales. Gold swallows. Maybe he shouldn't have asked. Kris certainly seems to think so, as she jabs him sharply with her elbow. _She's one violent woman_ , Gold thinks.

"What does it matter," Silver finally replies, getting to his feet and snatching the book from Gold's hands before marching away. "She only exists in this picture."

And that―that is…

"She's beautiful," Gold says. Then: "I'm sorry."

Silver pauses mid-step. He doesn't say anything, but perhaps some of the stiffness in his shoulders alleviates. Then he resumes his walk, heading to the direction of the woods close by. Gold's not worried about that though; Silver's a big boy he can find his way back. He only cares about whether or not he's ruined his chances of making nice with the boy for the rest of eternity.

"You," Kris says then. She seems to struggle with her words before finally finishing with: "You might a real pleb sometimes, but maybe you're not so bad."

Gold blinks. "Thanks, I guess?"

She scoffs, but smiles afterwards. "I'd already marked you down as a bit of a jerk. I guess you can be nice as well. There's a lot of sides to everyone. I think you're starting to notice that, too."

Well, she had sided with Silver more often than not. It might've been understandable―if she knew about Silver's artistic talents, she probably knew a lot of other stuff about him too. Gold really needed to work his way up, if he wanted to reach her level.

"You're not so bad yourself," Gold muses, feigning ignorance on the rest of her message.

Kris huffs and rises from her seat. "I'll go get Silver back, if you'll make us some tea."

Gold sighs. "Yeah, okay."

It might take a while.

-x-

It takes only a day after that for them to arrive in Olivine City. On the road there though, Silver manages to capture himself a new pokémon, a timid little magnemite that seems surprisingly taken to its new trainer despite his cold attitude. It keeps swirling around Silver, making faint buzzing noises that Kris informs them are a sign of contentment and affection. Silver himself only feels irritated as he keeps swatting the steel-type away every time it gets too close, until finally dismissing the pokémon to its capsule in order to regain some peace and quiet. Gold finds the whole thing utterly hilarious.

In addition to that, as soon as they reach the outskirts of the port city, the pokémon egg Kris has been carrying in her bag since Violet City begins to crack. The three trainers make a mad scramble to the pokécenter and make it on time to witness the hatching of a tiny baby togepi. The nurses at the center do a health check for the newborn and once she's pronounced healthy as they come, Kris breaks out in tears over the newest addition to her party, much to the awkward embarrassment of the two boys she's traveling with.

After Kris manages to calm down over a late lunch at the cafeteria and the baby pokémon is sleeping peacefully under the watchful eye of the medical staff at the pokécenter nursery, the three of them head out with the purpose of signing up for gym matches. Only, when they get to Olivine Gym, they're greeted by an apologetic aide and a closed sign at the door. It may go without saying that Silver in particular is less than pleased.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but there's nothing I can do," the aide explains, offering them his best pacifying smile. "It shouldn't take more than a few days for the gym leader to return, a week at the most. You can leave your contact information and we'll let you know when the matches resume."

Silver crosses his arms. "It's unprofessional of the gym leader to just up and leave like this, don't you think?"

The aide narrows his eyes for a second before relaxing his expression once more. "Quite the contrary," he replies, and Gold really has to hand it to him for not sounding the least bit offended. "The position warrants other duties besides holding up the gym roster. Leader Jasmine is currently seeing to those duties."

"Oh?" Silver sneers. "Let's hear it, then? Is she taking care of a sudden butterfree swarm in the city?"

Gold snorts before he can stop himself.

The man, for his part, only looks mildly constipated. "No, but I'm afraid I can't―" he begins, but Silver doesn't let him finish, obviously unimpressed by his excused.

"Don't you think it's unfair to keep us in the dark?"

The man winces as that, for some reason. "I'm sorry. I have my orders."

Silver scoffs and jerks slightly forward before Kris' hand on his shoulder stops him, silently telling him to back down. The girl takes a step forward instead. "Look, no harm in telling us what's keeping the gym leader," she tries.

The aide still looks a bit unsure, so Gold decides to pipe in and fire the big guns.

"Maybe we could do something to help," he offers with a sloppy grin.

Taking a deep breath the man relents. "Okay, I see there's no getting rid of you guys easily…"

The three younger trainers share a victorious grin, and lean in to listen to his story. It turns out to be a bit of a tricky situation. Apparently, the ampharos who usually served as the beacon for the lighthouse had fallen sick, forcing Jasmine to offer her own pokémon as a replacement. From the aide's emotional explanation it also became clear, that the leader isn't only taking care of the official side of things, as is expected of her, but is also rather worried for the poor ampharos, refusing to leave its side. Silver scoffs at the story, but quickly corrects his disdainful expression upon receiving a twin glare from both Kris and Gold. Instead, he curtly and simply thanks the aide for his help before walking off.

Afterwards, they hold a brief conference where they decide that they should go check up on Jasmine in case there's something they could do to hasten her return to the Gym. Well―Gold and Kris decide so, while Silver grumbles about useless detours. Gold, despite his newfound determination to act more civil towards Silver in order to befriend him, fails to resist the urge to try and trip him over. Silver stumbles, but doesn't fall. Straightening himself he releases a murderous growl and proceeds to chase Gold down the road while yelling threats of violence right up until they're on the lighthouse's doorstep, both completely out of breath from the running.

Kris, bless her blue pigtails, only whacks them upside their heads once as she finally joins them a few minutes later.

Reaching the top of the lighthouse takes a while longer than they had anticipated, mainly due to the hordes of trainers that seem to have taken residence inside the building. It's good experience for them all, so Gold doesn't complain even if he _is_ completely worn out by the end of it.

Moreover, he gets to witness Silver fighting, _properly_ fighting for what feels like the first time, even though he has been present for many battles before. It must be because now he's actually paying attention, instead of being quick to dismiss it _"_ _because Silver"._ In any case, he's both surprised and not by what he sees.

Silver is a strong battler, commanding his pokémon as if intuitively, much like Gold himself, but the sharp movements of his eyes reveal the strategist beneath. He's constantly looking for openings, weak spots, and the perfect time to strike. He knows how to play the strengths of his own pokémon and demonstrates at least moderate awareness towards their limits.

Those are the good sides. The… not so good sides, are that he's almost ruthless in his efficiency, leaving no room for failure, not even to unexpected mishaps no one could possibly have any control over. He keeps pushing and pushing until he's won, but doesn't plan his escapes in case something goes wrong. And when it does, he's quick to put the blame on others―especially his own pokémon.

Before, Gold would have called him out on it with angry words and sneers. Now, when it happens he takes a deep breath, steeling his nerves and reeling the irritation in, before stepping in.

"You know," he says with a slightly raised voice, one meant to capture Silver's attention through the tirade of scolds he's raining down on his golbat. The boy does look up, mouth set in an angry line and ready to lash out if needed. Gold tries to smile, just a bit, hoping that it doesn't make him look condescending. "It's fine to lead an offensive team, but maybe you should think about the alternatives, sometimes."

Even that much is enough to make Silver slowly start turning crimson in anger. Gold swallows, holding his hands up in a pacifying manner.

"Hey, I don't mean to judge," he adds quickly. "It's just… I think you might get a bit too caught up in your own strategy, so sometimes it's easy to forget what others might be thinking about. Like right now, for instance. If you'd called Golbat back like I think you thought of doing, instead of dismissing the idea as running away, I think you'd have achieved an easier victory."

That―surprise of all surprises―actually seems to work. Silver startles, the anger bleeding from his features before being replaced with doubt. "How would you know? It's not like your own strategy is perfect," he complains.

Gold bites his tongue to keep from retorting and snorts. _Baby steps_ , he thinks. _Don't hit back._

"Yeah, it's not," he relents. "I just thought it could be something for you to think about."

Silver gives him a long, wary look. "You should mind you own business," he finally mutters, but his tone and manner are not as dismissive as his words suggest.

Gold counts it as a win.

It takes them a couple more battles after that to reach the top floor where they're keeping Amphy, the sick ampharos, quarantined. Jasmine greets them with a worn smile and apologizes for the situation while assuring that she will return to her post as soon as possible. When Kris asks if there is anything they can do, though, she's seems bit taken back.

"Well… the truth is, there _is_ something," the gym leader says carefully. She keeps stroking the shivering pokémon, sitting by his bedside while the three younger trainers stand to the side. "I've sent my aides to fetch medicine from the old Pharmacy in Cianwood, but it seems like the Whirl Islands' perpetual whirlpools are messing up the ferry routes again, which means it will take them much longer to get there. It would be just a few hours surfing, but I cannot spare the time way from Amphy's side myself…"

Kris and Gold share a look after she's finished. Gold nods.

"We'd be happy to help with that," Kris says.

Jasmine's eyes light up immediately. "Oh, you would? That's wonderful, you're all so kind."

"It's no problem, ma'am," Gold assures. "We'll just surf up to Cianwood, fetch the medicine and be back by tomorrow."

On his left, Silver makes a strange noise in his throat but says nothing―it's weird how it almost seems like he's developed some skill on reading the mood and decided that now and here is definitely not the place and time for angry rebuttal. Gold almost feels proud.

"Well then," Jasmine says with a smile. "I wish you a swift journey."

-x-

In the end, it _is_ a swift journey to Cianwood, but not without a rocky start. Because in his promise to get there and back again, Gold had blissfully disregarded the impossibility of the whole thing. Essentially, he forgot to take into account the fact that he does not own a pokémon capable of learning surf.

They are already standing on the beach, ready to go, when he finally remembers this particular detail.

So… this time he really can't blame Silver for his reaction.

"What the fuck― are you an _actual_ idiot? _Huh?_ Are you missing some brain cells, or what?" The redhead huffs, throwing his hands up in resentment and marching down the shore while swearing under his breath.

Even Kris looks disappointed, although maybe _, just maybe_ , a little amused as well.

Gold sighs. "Lay it off… It just didn't occur to me."

Silver just keeps swearing. "Now what do we do? Please, do offer us more of your magnificent ideas?"

His tone is not as much dripping with sarcasm as it is drenched in it, and Gold really does not appreciate it. He's about to tell the boy as much, when Kris opens her mouth.

"Well, you could both ride on Croconaw," the girl offers seemingly innocently. "She's certainly big enough."

That certainly shuts him up. Silver gapes. Gold stares. Kris furrows her brows.

"What?" She asks accusingly. "It's barely a two hour trip. You can't _possibly_ be that afraid of touching each other."

Silver sputters. Gold realizes then, that it's up to _him_ to salvage their remaining dignity.

"No, but it's _gay_ ," he blurts out.

Kris bursts out laughing. "Well suck it up then," she says, chuckling all the way. "Besides, it's only gay if you make it so―but thanks for revealing your thoughts."

And without any further words she calls out her poliwhirl, walking to the waves with the pokémon.

Silver straight up smacks him then.

"Ow, what the fuck?" Gold yelps.

" _Shut up_ ," the boy hisses. His cheeks are as red as his hair. Then he follows Kris, releasing his crocodile partner into the waves and climbing on its back before turning to throw Gold a pointed look over his shoulder. "Get on and keep your thoughts to yourself, before I decide against this."

Gold feels a trickle of embarrassment run through him, but wisely does not comment as he climbs on behind the boy and Croconaw takes off to the open sea.

Despite Silver's starter being much larger in frame than the typical member of its species, there's really not much space for the two teenage boys sitting on her back to put between each other. As things are, Gold ends up more or less pressed against Silver's back, hands clutching at the boy's shirt in his attempt to remain on the crocodile's back. Silver growls.

"Just― hold on properly, will you?" The boy bites out. "And stay still. I'm not going to fish you out if you fall off."

"Sorry," Gold mutters, almost meekly, which kinda bothers himself if he's being totally honest. He has no idea why this whole thing is… well, not bothering but, _affecting_ him as much as it is.

He settles down and tries to keep as still and quiet as possible. Which really only works for about three minutes, before the silence becomes so awkward that he starts prattling about whatever comes to his mind, the scenery and raising pokémon and battling and other nonsensical things. What's odd, is that Silver seems to be listening, not interrupting him rudely or telling him to shut up even once. In fact, he even offers his own input into the pretty one-sided conversation every once in a while, occasionally even starting off a new topic.

It's… nice, really. It really makes Gold believe that this friendship thing with Silver is actually taking off.

It also makes the nearly two hour journey go much faster with little to no awkwardness after the start. And if Gold is a bit too aware of the way they're pressed against each other, well―that's no one's concern but his own. He's just not used to stuff like this, that's all. No one could blame him.

Still, he's both relieved and disappointed when they climb off of Croconaw's back onto Cianwood's shore, legs stiff from the position, and he doesn't know what to make of it. He decides to ignore it completely.

From then on things roll smoothly. And not only do things work out really splendidly, them finding the Cianwood Pharmacy with no trouble at all, but Silver is strangely amicable as well, which Gold merits to the two hours they spent chatting while getting there. After receiving the correct cure for Amphy's condition, the three trainers set out to find food and a place to spend the night, only to run into an old acquaintance―or two.

That is, while walking down the beach after dinner, Kris suddenly notices a strange blue glimmer in the distance, which to their great surprise turns out to originate from none other than Suicune, one of the legendary beasts of Ecruteak. Soon after that, the same Suicune enthusiast they'd met at the city comes running towards them, spouting nonsense about destiny and magnificent water-types.

Well, at least Gold thinks it's nonsense, and he's pretty damn sure Silver shares his sentiment. Kris though, seems enraptured by the man, apparently named Eusine. And really, Gold cannot think of a better way to pay her back for forcing him to share transportation with Silver―never mind the fact that it worked out quite well, all things considered―than to suggest in a subtle and gentlemanly manner that he and Silver leave the two lovebirds to their moonlit promenade and flee the scene. And while he doesn't use those exact words, it's close enough for Kris to flush up to her roots and start sputtering after them as Gold and Silver make their daring escape.

Which, consequentially, leaves them to a moonlit promenade of their own. As they walk towards the pokécenter in somewhat awkward silence, Gold feels like he needs to start thinking these things through.

-x-

After a very well rested night in his very own room―for a change―Gold feels more positive about life than he can remember feeling in weeks. And considering that he is, by most definitions, an optimist on a general basis, it's really saying something. He whistles happily as he trots downstairs to the pokécenter's cafeteria. They had promised to regroup over breakfast last night, but Gold is somewhat surprised to find he's the first person to arrive. He shrugs it off and gets himself some porridge, as well as food for his pokémon. They've all just settled around a table when Kris, holding the newest addition to her party, Shuckle, and Silver arrive at the scene.

Gold's eyes narrow in suspicion―why the two are still hanging together so much, when Kris has a much better romantic interest to pursue, he has no clue―but decides to let it slide for now.

He's much more interested in the piece of paper Silver's carrying, anyway.

"Good mornin'," Gold calls out, mouth half-full and raising his spoon in greeting. Kris looks vaguely disgusted while Silver just deadpans through it, starting to make his way towards Gold's table. "What's that you've got there?"

"Our gym match schedules," Silver replies, slipping into the seat in front of him.

Gold almost chokes on his porridge. Kris spares him a slightly concerned look, settling next to Silver.

"Our _what?_ " He croaks.

Silver raises an eyebrow. "I figured that since we're already here, we should get the Cianwood Gym battle out of the way."

"Uh, you forget something, Silv? How about the fact that we have medicine to deliver?" Gold reminds him, just a bit snappishly. The boy retorts by making a face―probably because of the hated nickname that had slipped from Gold's mouth while he wasn't paying attention.

Yet, surprisingly enough, Kris is the one to speak up. "It will actually save us time, if you think about it," she says. "The first match is in twenty minutes and it'll be over in fifteen, max, if the way you've cleared gyms in the past are anything to go by. I trust you'll be able to do it, no sweat."

"I still don't see how that's supposed to save us anything," Gold mumbles, a bit thrown off by the girl's praise.

"The Storm badge grants you the legal right to use fly, Gold," she says, pronouncing the words slowly and clearly as if she was talking to a child or someone equally simpleminded. That coupled with her previous trust is really sending some mixed signals into Gold's direction―does she even like him or not? "When you win, you can just take Noctowl back to Olivine, which will take maybe half an hour."

"Yeah, but how will _you_ get back?" Gold asks.

Kris shrugs. "We'll just come surfing after you. That even spares you another, ah, _uncomfortable_ ride on Croconaw's back," she reasons, smiling somehow knowingly. Whatever it is she thinks she's figured out, Gold hates her a little bit for it.

He sighs, dropping the spoon in his now empty cup and pushing himself up. "Fine, I'll just start running to the gym then."

And with that, it's decided that they will try Kris' plan. It ends up working perfectly, Gold winning his match in no time at all and flying back to Olivine to deliver Amphy's medicine. Jasmine is beyond grateful, promising that they'll be the first to receive matches as soon as she returns to her gym. With the correct medication it should take a day or two more at most for the pokémon to recover. In the mean time, she suggests they should partake in Olivine's festival which would begin the very next day. Gold promises her they will, although he doubts Silver will enjoy it. Kris just might.

As he waits for them at the Olivine pokécenter, he's suddenly struck with the thought that he almost feels lonely without the two trainers nearby. It's strange, how they've both become so meaningful in his life in such a short time, even though he had initially dismissed Silver as nothing more than trouble and Kris as nothing particularly special. Since he has nothing but time to kill, he decides to call Lyra for a change and relay these thoughts to her. The girl seems surprised, not that odd of an reaction considering what happened during their visit at her grandparents' home, but also actually somewhat pleased.

"I'm glad things worked out between you," the girl says over the line, cracking a joke about them worming their way into Gold's heart like little caterpies.

Gold laughs and thinks that he's actually glad, too.

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** it's a bit of stretch to imagine that two teenage boys could ride on the back of one croconaw, but the situation was too good to pass up, so please suspend your disbelief in this case… more coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next day the trio receive word that their gym matches would be held that very evening, since Amphy had made a fantastically swift recovery. The timeslots they get are actually after regular opening hours, because Jasmine still has many things to sort out before she would officially reopen her gym the following day, but none of them mind all that much. On the contrary, they're perfectly happy for the opportunity to waste the whole day gawking at the hundreds upon hundreds of stalls that have sprouted from the ground over the course of one night.

Or well, at least Kris and Gold are happy. Silver on the other hand seems thoroughly resigned to his fate as he trails behind the girl and boy who, possibly for the first time since the beginning of their journey, are getting along seamlessly.

"Ooh, look," Kris calls out as they pass a group of elementary school kids holding approximately two hundred pokémon-shaped air balloons―Gold is actually a bit surprised that none of the kids are floating up towards the sky―and points to their left. "They're giving out free pokéball samples."

That piques even Silver's interest, his eyes snapping up and suddenly full of attentiveness when they were previously downcast with a longsuffering expression gracing his face.

Gold laughs. "God, you're like a fucking staraptor at spotting these things… I mean, first the ice cream sale and now this!"

Kris just grins and tugs him along.

"Hurry up, Silver, or there will be none left," Gold yells at the redhead over his shoulder.

However, the boy seems to have caught the drift already, much closer than Gold had anticipated. For a moment, that in Gold's mind seems to stretch on for eons, their faces are about three inches apart. Then Silver ducks to the right, telling him to watch it, while Gold stumbles and luckily manages to catch his balance before he takes Kris down with him.

His cheeks must be burning for how warm they feel. He curses inwardly and hurries along, willing the blush away before anyone notices.

They get their pokéballs―some net balls and a timer ball each―and after that spend some time trying to find Kris a new backpack since her old one is getting too small for all her equipment. She ends up taking a fancy to large neon green bag that both Gold and Silver find absolutely hideous and don't hesitate to tell her so. She still ends up purchasing it and simply gives them the finger when they keep making faces and telling her how disappointed they are in her fashion sense. Her old backpack she donates to a young girl standing in front of a stall selling exported pokémon goods, gazing wistfully at the sales. Kris tells her to wait a few years before taking off on her journey and the girl absolutely beams. Gold smiles at the scene. Silver―looks thoughtful, actually.

Gold bumps his shoulder against the redheads. "What's up?"

Silver makes a frustrated sound. "Nothing," he replies, but starts talking again before Gold can pry any further. "We should get lunch."

"Hmm, maybe," Gold agrees reluctantly. He still kinda wants to know what Silver was thinking about, but doesn't want to risk angering the boy. He's been doing fine on that front recently, but sometimes he it's hard. "What are you feeling like?"

Silver hums thoughtfully. "I think I saw a stall selling remoraid sushi a few streets back."

Kris joins them then. "Did I hear something about food?" She asks, grinning wide.

"How about sushi?" Gold asks, relying Silver's suggestion.

Kris makes a pleasantly surprised sound. "Sure, it should be fresh at least!"

Together they make their way back with Silver leading the way. There's a bit of a line at the stall when they arrive, so it takes about half an hour before they're sitting on one of the piers at the dock, eating their sushi rolls straight out of the box. Gold fills the silence with a story of the time her mom accidentally made qwilfish sushi for a family dinner and ended up giving them all food poisoning and even sending Gold's second cousin Amber into the hospital. Kris laughs openly and even Silver chuckles quietly, saying that even though he'd met Gold's mother only briefly he somehow doesn't find the story too hard to believe.

Gold is initially offended, but then he catches the unquestionable warmth beneath the mischievous glint in Silver's eyes and somehow he feels rather mellow, almost bashful all of a sudden. So instead he just shrugs and agrees that it's exactly like his mom to forget the fact you're supposed to boil qwilfish to get rid of the poison. Silver returns his smile and some of the warmth from his expression seems to transfer straight onto Gold's face before traveling downwards and settling into his stomach.

It's an odd, but not at all unpleasant feeling.

Finished with their lunch, the three trainers head back to spend a few more hours checking out the festival. They end up catching a fire-breathing show featuring three trainers and their magmars, and a dance show by the kimono girls visiting from Ecruteak. Afterwards, it's almost getting dark already, so they head back to the pokécenter to catch their breath for a while before it's time for the matches. They eat dinner and hold a conference on whether it's smarter to stay one more night in town or start making their way back to Ecruteak that very evening.

In the end, Kris gets voted down and they decide to leave town. Silver seems to always be in a hurry. Gold is just getting sick of staying still.

The gym matches themselves go very smoothly, Gold using his tag team of Quilava and Heracross to take down Jasmine's steelix and magnemite while Silver's gastly surprises its trainer by evolving after the victory.

There are some minor hiccups on Kris' part, however. Of course, she still ends up winning, but her smile by the end is just a bit strained. A worry is starting to etch its way into her eyes, Gold thinks, doubts of whether she's truly as capable of a battler as both Gold and Silver seem to be. He kinda wants to shake her, tell her it's okay, because she's probably smarter than both of them combined, always aware of even the most obscure pieces of information concerning the places they're traveling to and the pokémon they meet.

He doesn't, but he offers her a reassuring grin and a thumbs up as Jasmine presents her with a badge. She acknowledges it with a curt nod, but some of the tension alleviates from her shoulders.

With the battles out of the way, the trio say their goodbyes to the kind gym leader, wishing both her and Amphy all the best, and start off towards route 39. They manage to reach the miltank farm some six miles out of town, before they all start yawning almost simultaneously. They make camp in one of the empty barns―with the permission of the owners, of course. Kris makes them decide on a travel plan before bed, but the boys are both so tired any decisions on their part mostly consist of tired affirmative mumbling. Silver tugs out his sketchbook, but ends up giving up after five minutes. Gold tiredly hands out evening snacks to his pokémon, but in the end he ends up wondering if he gave Noctowl one treat too many since Quilava, Sudowoodo, Heracross, and Sunflora keep staring at the bird jealously. He sighs, calls the pokémon back to their balls and informs the other two that he's going to sleep, before promptly flopping down onto his bedroll.

The last thing he sees before closing his eyes is Silver's amused expression. It follows Gold into his dreams.

-x-

Ecruteak City for a second time is nothing to write home about, but at least it's not raining this time and so they stay a few days to see the Kimono Girls' dance show and train their pokémon. Traveling east in an early morning chill after the break, though, proves a bit trickier as the road is completely blocked by a smallish pond and Gold has to hang onto Silver for dear life once again as they both cross it on Croconaw. This time it almost feels normal, comfortable even. The thought itself is slightly worrying, but Gold decides to brush it off and hold onto Silver a bit tighter―the crocodile pokémon under them _is_ swaying quite a bit.

Back ashore they're in for a surprise, when Kris almost runs into Suicune. Once again the beast disappears almost immediately after, and the three of them are left puzzled and stumped.

"Maybe it's a tsundere," Gold suggests, making Silver by his side let out an undignified snort. "It wants to be your friend, but when you get too close it realizes how annoying you are and runs away."

Kris smacks him for his words. He has no regrets.

It only takes a short while from there to get to Mahogany and Gold is starting to feel like they're getting better at walking long distances. It hardly tires him anymore to stay on his feet for a day, but it's not like he has trouble falling asleep either. He's just found a balance.

However, it turns out to be of no use getting there early. Gold feels a sickening sense of déjà vu when they approach the Mahogany Gym door, only to find it locked.

"The Gym's closed until further notice!" An elderly lady from the neighboring house yells at them over the fence.

"Any idea why?" Gold yells back.

The lady shrugs. "I think Mr. Pryce is visiting the Lake… there's something fishy going on over there."

Gold waves as thanks, and the three of them return to the pokécenter.

"So," he asks as they're all seated around a table with sandwiches on their plates. "What now?"

Kris hums. "Maybe we should go check out the lake?"

"Lake of Rage?" Someone behind Gold says. He turns to find a crimson haired man a few years older than them, wearing a _cape_ of all things. "Are you guys investigating the radio interference, as well?"

"Uh," Gold says.

He can't stop being distracted by the man's questionable wardrobe choices. He glances at Silver and manages to catch his eye, relieved to find that the boy seems to agree with his assessment. _Fashion disaster_ , Silver's expression says, clear as day. Gold bites back a laugh.

"No, actually, we're here for the gym badge," Kris pipes in to save the day. "But it seems the Gym Leader is out of town, solving some trouble… maybe these thing are connected, though?"

The man sighs. "Yeah, most likely. Sorry for cutting in by the way, I'd just appreciate the Interpol being a bit faster with sending their officers to the scene," he mutters, his tone speaking volumes of past experiences. "It always seems like the dirty jobs are left for the League to deal with."

Gold's eyes widen, suddenly recognizing the badly dressed individual in front of them. "Oh _fuck_ ," he hisses, making the others look up, confused. "You're Lance Yamagawa, aren't you? The Indigo League Champion?"

The man offers him a sheepish smile. "Yeah, that would be me… and sorry for not introducing myself, as well. I tend to forget."

"No, no… I should've realized it a lot sooner!" Gold beams. "I watched last year's tournament at least five times from tape―the last battle was damn _cool!_ "

Well, back then the cape had kinda added to his charm, unlike _now_.

Lance laughs. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show," he says with a smile, before his expression turns more somber. "Unfortunately grand pokémon battles are not the only gig on the champion's plate… as much as I'd love to chat with you guys some more, I really must return to this unfortunate situation at hand."

Gold feels his chance to suck it up to his idol slip through his fingers, but he's not yet willing to give it up. " _Wait_ ― um, maybe we can help you?" He calls out, before Lance can turn around and leave. "We were thinking of going to the lake anyway, so you can explain the situation as we go."

He briefly turns to give his two friends warning looks― _don't fuck this up for me_. Kris actually seems up for the task, but Silver is scowling. It's not too uncharacteristic of an expression for him, so Gold doesn't ponder on it too much.

"Oh," Lance breathes out, surprised. Then his lips turn upwards into a grin. "That would be great, actually!"

Gold scrambles to his feet, grabbing the untouched sandwich in his hand and bowing full ninety degrees. "My name is Gold and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

When he straightens back up Lance almost looks bewildered. "Wow, uh… no need to be so formal. It's nice to meet you, Gold."

Kris introduces herself, similarly standing up and bowing slightly. Silver is the last to go, but he simply snarls out his name and averts his eyes immediately afterwards. Gold really wants to kick him, or ask him what the big deal is, but there's a table between them and they're in company. For now, Silver will just have to deal with it.

Somehow, he still cannot stop himself from worrying.

-x-

They exit the pokécenter, Lance latching onto a pretty longwinded explanation about reports on strange pokémon behavior in the area and a weird unidentified radio signal. Somewhere along the lines he drops the name of Team Rocket, and Silver immediately stiffens, before stilling completely. Neither Kris nor Lance seem to notice, so it falls upon Gold to stay behind and figure out what's troubling the redhead.

"I don't want to do this," Silver says before Gold has even opened his mouth.

Gold frowns. In most cases, he would at this point tell the other to suck it up, because they're gonna help Lance, no matter his feeling on the subject, but somehow lately he's begun to consider Silver's emotions a bit more carefully. He guesses the friendship thing works both ways, if he gets Silver to open up to him, he'll undoubtedly lose some of his own edge towards the boy in the process.

"Why?" Gold asks, careful to keep his tone very neutral. "What's wrong?

"We shouldn't get involved with the Rockets," Silver mutters. "It's a bad idea."

Gold takes a deep breath. "I agree," he says slowly. Silver's head snaps up. "But there's also no one else up for the task. When we were in Azalea, before you came back, me and Kris solved some trouble… maybe you heard of it from her. Even then, it's not like I wanted to do it, but the whole town was frightened. The police were nowhere to be seen. And I knew we could do it, so we did."

The boy frowns. "You really couldn't have known… You have no idea what they're capable of. Team Rocket destroys _everything_ they touch."

Gold's brows furrow. "Silver," he breathes. "Are you―"

That's as far as he gets before Kris' yell interrupts his thoughts. "Hey! You guys coming?"

"Yeah, just a sec!" Gold calls back, but when he turns to finish his question, Silver brushes past him, jogging towards the retreating pair in the distance. Gold has no choice but to follow.

The rest of the way passes mostly in companionable silence, Lance occasionally making small talk and either Gold or Kris replying in kind. Mostly Gold is left to his own thoughts, though, and he cannot help but let his mind wonder―about Silver and everything he said and everything he _didn't_. That seems to be the important part after all, as it often seems to be with Silver.

The boy is careful to shield his thoughts, his past, everything that could make him seem vulnerable, that much Gold has realized by now. But no matter he looks at the interrupted conversation, it really does sound like Silver was revealing his fears, almost _pleading_ with him, telling him not to get involved because he would get hurt―like Silver apparently has.

Gold shivers. The thought really doesn't sit well with him, and he would like nothing as much as to teach the bastards, who dared to mess with Silver to the point to make him as scared as he is of getting close to people, a lesson in pain. But then again, that would most likely mean getting involved with the Rockets, and Silver didn't want that. Is Silver worried for him? A wave of warmth passes through Gold at the thought, but it leaves him no less confused.

What is he supposed to do in a situation where he really wants to impress the champion, but really doesn't want to go against Silver's wishes either? Surely Silver must understand his point―if they don't help, who will? The world they live in is safe, a place where anyone can walk out their door with just their pokémon for company and expect to survive on people's kindness. But there are always those who oppose and when those situations arise the trainers must rise to the challenge.

Maybe he should remind Silver of Red and Green, and how the almost legendary trainers from Pallet had gathered a group of trainers and brought down Team Rocket in Kanto. Or maybe Silver wouldn't care.

Gold is pulled from his thoughts by the sensation of something wet landing on his cheek. He looks up, only to have another drop land square in his left eye. He curses out loud.

"We better hurry," Lance says to the group at large. "It looks like it's gonna come pouring down pretty fast, but the lake's not too far!"

They pick up their pace, but sadly so does the rain. By the time they've jogged up the hill and are able to see the lake open up before them, they're already pretty much completely soaked.

The view itself is enough to shock them into stillness. Because the Lake of Rage, the popular wildlife resort and fishing spot that's usually almost ironically serene, is now living up to its name in full force. Waves are crashing back and forth, the water almost white with foam, and there, in the middle of it all, stands a proud, red gyarados, crying to the skies.

"Oh my gods," Lance whispers. Gold only catches it because he's standing so close. He looks up to the champion's face and sees him struck with a mixture of fear and utter _awe_. Lance is of the dragon clan, Gold remembers. And to one of them, he's heard, there's nothing quite as magnificent as a fierce, red gyarados in all its furious glory, one of the rarest sights in the world.

"We have to stop it!" Kris yells over the sound of rainfall, always the voice of reason. "If it starts to rampage around, it could wreck everything around the lake!"

"And how do you think we're gonna do that?" Gold yells back. "It's near impossible to stop a gyarados gone berserk!"

"We catch it!" Kris says, calmer but loud enough to be heard. "That's the only choice, really."

Lance takes a step forward. "I'll do it," he proclaims, eyes shining with determination. "It's only right."

Gold shudders. "We'll help, too. Distract it."

Kris nods. "It's too dangerous to approach alone."

Lance deflates slightly, before smiling. "Okay," he relents. "Let's hear your plan."

It takes them a few minutes to figure out the details, but after it's done it seems like they actually have a solid chance of making it work. Wasting no time, they get to it.

Lance, who has the strongest pokémon by far, begins approaching the beast head on, slowly but surely making his way towards the shore. With its heightened senses on full alert, it doesn't take the gyarados all too long to notice the intruder on its turf. It lets out a bloodcurdling growl and begins gathering an attack behind its teeth, but before it has a chance to release it, Lance releases his dragonite from its ball, blasting it with hyper beam. That sends the serpent crashing into the waves with a pained cry.

While the gyarados is down, Kris and Silver run to the shore, and into the water, surfing in circles around the pokémon while maintaining a safe distance as to confuse it. It works, as the gyarados seems to forget its initial attacker, simply trashing about in an attempt to hit either of the trainers. That's when Gold swoops in on Noctowl, the owl pokémon sending piercing air blasts all around the serpent's body, weakening it considerably. Gold grins, now it'll just take one more hyper beam and Lance can throw the―

Right as he's about to finish the thought, two things happen.

One, the gyarados suddenly lets out a twister, hitting Lance's dragonite square on the chest and taking it down. Two, it's tail suddenly slams up from the waves, almost exactly from below Silver and sending the boy flying high into the air while his croconaw is left in the waves.

Gold react instinctively, guiding Noctowl into a downwards scoop towards Silver. By some miracle, the owl manages to catch the boy in its claws by his hoodie, but as a consequence, it immediately begins to lose altitude, not strong enough to carry them both.

"Silver?" Gold calls out, his voice coming out as a worried squeak.

Silver coughs.

"Oh thank _Arceus_ ," Gold sighs to himself, only to realize that they're now straight in the gyarados' attack line. And that the pokémon is staring straight at them, preparing a blast. " _Fuck_ ― Noctowl, gust!"

Blowing the air out of its beak, the brave bird sends the attack straight into the gyarados' face, blinding it momentarily.

Gold fumbles for his belt, reaching for one of the unused net balls he'd gotten at Olivine. It may be an useless effort, but he honestly just needs a few seconds break in order to get Silver safely to the shore. With that thought as his motivation, Gold throws the ball.

The serpent pokémon disappears in a flash of red, the ball falling to the waves. _Just a few seconds,_ Gold thinks as he guides Noctowl towards solid ground, _just a few seconds before it breaks free._

But the second flash of red never comes. Gold manages to land them safely, Silver's Croconaw swimming to shore nearby and worriedly waddling towards its owner. Silver groans, cracking open his eyes and peering at Gold. Gold realizes it's not raining anymore, right then.

"What the fuck happened?" Silver asks, voice croaky.

Gold laughs, just a bit hysterically. "I think I just caught a red gyarados," he replies. "But by now the ball is probably at the bottom of the lake."

Silver groans again, closing his eyes. "They float," he mutters, before raising his arm towards the Croconaw by his side. "Hey," he says to it, pointing vaguely in the direction of the lake. "Go fetch."

Surprisingly enough, the crocodile seems to recognize the command, growling happily before diving back into the waves. Some minutes later it returns with a net ball very carefully held between its teeth. Gold's jaw drops.

"You really taught your croconaw to _fetch balls?_ " He asks, bewildered both by the prospect and the ball actually containing a red gyarados. _His_ red gyarados.

Silver grins weakly, finally climbing to his feet. Just then, Lance and Kris come running towards them. The girl looks almost sick with worry, only beginning to relax as she gets close enough to be able to ascertain that both Silver and Gold, as well as their pokémon, seem to be standing and mostly unhurt.

"Are you two alright?" Lance says, slowing down to a brisk walking pace before stopping completely in front of them, expression ridden with guilt. "I am so sorry, I never should've brought you into this mess…"

Gold laughs. "Don't worry about it," he says, before addressing Silver. "But seriously, are you hurt?"

"I've had worse," the redhead assures. "Just glad it's done."

 _Just glad there were no Rockets involved_ , Gold hears the unvoiced thought, surprising even himself with how clearly he's suddenly able to read Silver. Just then, Lance clears his throat.

"Actually… there's still more," he admits with a frown. "But I'm not about to involve you in that, unless you absolutely insist… this was bad enough from me." He pauses, suddenly thoughtful. "Who caught the gyarados, in the end?"

"Um, that would be me," Gold confesses with a little embarrassed wave.

Lance nods. "I must warn you, you shouldn't try to use it for a while. At least not until we've managed to get rid of the radio signal that by all evidence seems to be agitating the pokémon in the area, forcing them to evolve much faster than normally."

"Yeah, I wasn't really about to," Gold mutters.

Lance laughs weakly. "Good. Now, I need to go see what Pryce has found out. I think I saw him by the lakeview cabin after getting Kris out of the lake."

"Thanks for that by the way," Kris says, smiling a bit timidly.

Lance waves a hand dismissively. "No problem… now, you all should probably come dry out as well."

Together they start making their way towards the cabin. Gold realizes that despite the scare and the tiredness seeping into his bones, he feels alive with the thrill of achieving something far greater he ever expected to. He spares a look at Silver by his side, only to find him frowning seemingly lost in thought. He nudges the boy with his elbow.

"Hey," he breathes. "It's gonna be alright."

Silver's scoffs dismissively, but his expression softens, just a bit. "We'll see," he mutters.

Gold really hopes he's right.

-x-

Victor Pryce stands in front of the cabin, already waiting for them with a piloswine by his side. Lance waves at the older man from the distance, but he does not return the gesture. Instead Gold sees him cross his arms, his figure straight-backed and proud like the pine trees in the forest behind him. The picture leaves him deeply impressed.

"Oh, for Mew's sake," Pryce grumbles as soon as they're close enough for him to see them properly with his squinted eyes. "It took the League this long to interfere and now you're here with brats like these? Just send preschoolers the next time, save yourself the trouble."

Lance winces, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Oh c'mon, Pryce," he says. "You of all people should know how capable young people really are."

Pryce harrumphs, and turns to head inside the cabin, leaving his pokémon behind. Gold really feels tempted to offer him some choice words for his attitude, but decides on the last second that it may be unwise. After all, this is the man who once was the youngest qualified champion of the century, only twelve when he came out on top in the pokémon league championship tournament. His record was later broken by Green Oak and, of course, Red, but it still stands to say that Victor Pryce is a trainer to be reckoned with.

They follow him inside, seating themselves around the table. It's pleasantly warm inside, wood burning happily in the fireplace. Gold feels the cold melt from his body, inch by inch. Even Silver, still sporting an unhappy frown, looks slightly more relieved.

"Now," Pryce says and aims his piercing eyes at each of the three younger trainers in turn, "you need to introduce yourselves, one by one, and then we'll get on with this business."

Lance opens his mouth to comment, but Pryce silences him, saying: "You're not their nanny, son. Let the young ones handle themselves."

Gold clears his throat. "Well, I'm Gold," he says confidently, pointing his thumb against his chest. At Pryce's glare he shrinks back, quickly adding: "Nice to meet you… _sir_."

Kris and Silver make quick work of their own introductions and Pryce nods, contented. "Good," he mutters. "Now that that's over with, I'd like you to turn your attention to the trouble that has been spewing in my town for months without you goons bothering to step in."

The accusation is mostly aimed at Lance, but Gold still bristles. He's not used to being bossed around like this, even if Pryce is a respected elite trainer.

"Just get on with it, then," he bites out before anyone else has the time to respond. "Not like we came here to sit around and fiddle our thumbs."

Lance gapes, absolutely horrified, while Kris merely rubs her forehead. Silver actually looks amused, his worried mask breaking for a few seconds.

Pryce, though, just raises his brows. Gold cocks his head defiantly and refuses to break the eye contact between himself and the old man. Finally, after a few tense moments of utter silence, Pryce's lips twitch upwards.

"I do like to see a young trainer with proper fighting spirit," he says to Gold, smirking faintly. The boy vaguely feels like he's passed some sort of a test.

"Okay then, listen closely," Pryce continues, addressing the room as a whole. "Here's the deal…"

He proceeds to explain everything that has happened in Mahogany ever since Team Rocket began making its second appearance in Johto, few months back. At first, nothing seemed to be particularly out of the ordinary. There may have been a slight increase in the crime rate, but it was nothing they couldn't manage. Then the first reports started rolling in. Trainers losing control of their party pokémon during matches, hikers being attacked in the wilds, radio stations malfunctioning―all of it pointed towards a common cause and Pryce, with his years of experience, didn't doubt for a second that it was all connected to the criminal gang trying to make it's comeback.

So, they tightened security. They did everything in their power to get rid of every trace of Team Rocket in the town, banning the Rocket symbol and all. For a while it seemed to work. And then everything, the pokémon going berserk and the connectivity disruptions, returned with double the force.

Pryce immediately reported it to the League, working in tandem with the local police chapter to find the cause. Finally, they managed to identify a strange radio signal that seemed to be behind it all, but no one could figure out where it was coming from. It was practically untraceable.

Then, people started calling in, saying that strange things were happening at the lake. The magikarp were evolving at a much heightened rate and going near the water was becoming dangerous. Something had to be done.

That brought them here, to this day. The radio signal finally peaked, leading to the appearance of the red gyarados. And as much of a hassle _that_ was, at least something good came out of it. Because the amount of power it took to evolve a beast of that magnitude had forced the people operating the signal to come out of hiding. Just minutes before Gold managed his lucky capture of the serpent, Pryce received coordinates for where their culprit lay in hiding.

"It's in the town," he reveals in a grim tone. He lays a map on the table, pointing at the correct spot. "Apparently, the Rockets were disguising themselves with a regular business. I suspected as much."

Lance nods. "Yeah, that does sound like basic Rocket operational protocol."

"So," Gold starts, peering at the map. "Now we, what, bust them out? Roll in with guns blazing?"

Lance snorts.

"I prefer hyper beams, myself," he says and smirks.

Gold finds himself unable to tell whether it is meant as a joke or not.

"Basically, that is our only option," Pryce concurs. "I would love to wait for the Interpol to finally wake up to the situation at hand, but that doesn't seem to be happening while I'm still young." He pauses to flash them a wry grin. "We could call out reinforcements from the other cities, Ecruteak, Violet, maybe even Goldenrod, but I'm not about to wait for them myself. No, I'm going in _now_. Because as long as that signal is still going strong, people are in immediate danger."

Lance nods sharply. "I agree," he says. "We can't afford to waste any more time. If they're capable of bringing up a red gyarados, Arceus only know what else they might crop up."

Gold grins, suddenly alert and full of the kind of scary excitement you only get when you realize you have the chance to be a part of something big―something that could either break you or make you, and you have no way of knowing which it's gonna be. "Count me in," he exclaims, voice shuddering just slightly. "Let's show these Rockets who they're messing with!"

Both adults turn towards him, Pryce with a frown on his face that looks like he's just about to tell him what he thinks about letting kids in on an operation this dangerous, when Silver beats him to the punch.

"You've got to be kidding me," he says, and his voice is strained and quiet, like a volcano minutes before eruption.

Gold's mood immediately plummets. "What's that?"

Silver grinds his teeth together, meeting Gold's inquisitive stare. His eyes are steeled and angry and―

"I can't believe you," he continues. "Of all the idiotic ideas you've had, this has got to be the worst. Didn't I already tell you, Team Rocket is nothing but trouble. You're only asking to get yourself and everyone around you _hurt_."

― _afraid?_

Gold is about to respond, about to tell Silver he doesn't have any reason to be frightened, that he's not fighting alone and that makes them much stronger, but―

"You certainly don't care for your so called friends much, do you?"

In that moment, Gold's temper flares. Because no, there's no way Silver, the mean, bitchy bully that he is, gets to tell him he doesn't _care_. "Why don't you take a look in the mirror, huh?" He spits out. "Take a look and see which one of us actually _has_ friends?"

Silver snarls. "Maybe I know what happens when you pretend to care and then go off playing the hero!"

"Well maybe you should realize that there are times when you actually need to stand up and face your fears and protect your friends before it's too late, instead of being such a goddamned pussy all the time!"

Gold is distantly aware that they're both standing now, yelling at each other like there's no one else in the room. But there is, and the three other trainers are regarding them with worry, unsure whether they should stick their spoons into this particular soup. The indecision is clearest on Kris' face, the girl torn between not wanting to pick a side and the need to stop the argument before things get ugly.

Not like Gold doesn't already know which one of them she'd back up.

"I'm sorry you have such… such traumatic experiences with the Rockets, or what-the-fuck-ever, but you seriously need to get over yourself." He throws Silver one last pitying glance, before turning on his heel, ready to march out of the cabin. "Some of us have got shit to do and people to keep safe."

And with that he storms out the door, calling out Noctowl as soon as he hears it slam shut behind him. Silver's final expression ghosts his thoughts, the boys face white with rage, his lips drawn in a straight line. He scoffs to himself, taking off to the skies and thinks that Silver really needs to get his head out of his ass and be a bit more thankful. Gold's thinking of him as well, wanting to get the Rockets out of the picture once and for all, so that maybe Silver could find some peace. It certainly seems like he's got some kind of beef with the group, something that makes him, Silver, the guy who usually laughs at any sign of weakness, all frail and frightful.

Thinking back on their little shout match, though, he realizes he must've crossed a line. Too caught up in Silver's hurtful words to realize the pain behind them. Because right now, Gold understands, all he wants is for Silver to get over that and be able to live his life to the fullest.

The boy must be able to see that, Gold thinks, after he's beaten the Rockets out of Mahogany. Realize that there's nothing to be afraid of if even someone like _Gold_ ―not that he himself doesn't believe in his chances, because he totally _does!_ He's just thinking from Silver's perspective―can bring down their evil ministrations.

He imagines the relieved expression on the boy's face, the small, unwilling smile, more real than any other he's ever seen, as he admits he was wrong to worry.

 _Just watch me, Silver,_ Gold thinks, grinning, _I'm gonna make it all better. And once I do, I'll even apologize for all that shit I said in the heat of the moment. There's nothing for you to worry about._

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** oh Gold, you poor, clueless asshole…

Also, at this point it's become relevant to address that I've changed the way gyms and the pokémon league work from the games.

In this fic all gym leaders are past league champions, but not all league champions become gym leaders; it's just one of the qualifications you need to fill before applying for the job (currently, most of them in Johto _are_ young, so they're pretty recent champions). The gym leaders obviously don't fight with all their strength against trainers wanting to win the badge, as their job is more to test the trainers' resolves. Actually, the gym leaders are allowed to give away their badge to any and all trainers they think should be allowed to qualify for the championships, regardless of whether they win or lose the gym match. But unless you get the blessing from all eight, no dice. Their position is also juridical and they're responsible for protecting the citizens in their area (essentially working as chief of police).

The League Championships is an annual tournament where all qualified trainers face off against each other, as well as four elite trainers elected for their position. Outside of the tournament these four trainers, referred to as the League, hold a considerate amount of political power in their region (the exact amount varies depending on region, but in Kanto and Johto they are responsible for everything trainer and pokémon related), while the rest lies in the hands of whatever kind of governmental body each region has.

The tournament itself works so that qualified trainers face off against each other until only four top contenders remain. At this point, each of them gets assigned a match against one of the elite four, so they must first beat them, then the winner of another similar match and so on. Once they have come out on top from this tournament they have the right to challenge the reigning champion from the previous tournament, and if they win they become the new champion. However, when compared to the position of the four elites, the champion is more like a figure head, with little actual power. Mainly they are expected to help around the region in issues of defense, if any such arise―hence why Lance is the first one to arrive in Mahogany to help.

And in case you're wondering about why Lance only became the champion a year ago: he used to be the champion 7 years ago, which is when the events of the generation 1 games occurred. Back then, he was beaten by both Red and Green (it will later be explained how _that_ was possible) and then left to train for a long time, only returning a year ago to retake the league championships and regain the title. Because Red disappeared immediately after the championships, Green became the official champion after Lance, but he then forfeited the title the next year to Jasmine. This probably sounds pretty confusing, but I have it all thought out in case someone wants to know more!

Phew, that came out long, but I hope it helps understand the situations in this story a bit more! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Things do not exactly go according to plan.

First of all, as soon as Gold lands back in Mahogany he realizes he doesn't actually know where he's supposed to go. Just that the Rocket's have supposedly set up some sort of a business as a cover for their operations. Luckily enough, Mahogany is not what you would call _"a big city"_ , and the Rockets have never been too inventive with their guises. And just as he's managed to narrow his options down to two shady looking shops a little off the main street, Lance and Pryce land nearby on Lance's dragonite, waving Gold over to them.

Surprisingly, they are soon followed by Kris. The girl hops down gracefully from the back of her newly evolved togekiss and offers Gold a sour grimace. Gold huffs out an uninterested sigh. Not like he expected anything different―he's just glad the girl apparently has enough sense in her to know Gold is right even when she thinks he's being a jerk.

Which he probably is, there's no denying that. At least he's not as self-righteous as Kris and Silver.

"So, I guess Silver's not coming?" Gold says, as conversationally as he's able after storming out of a shouting-match with an audience.

"Your red-haired friend left not soon after you, refusing to answer our calls," Pryce explains, seemingly the only one both disinterested and unaffected by recent events. It must've been something that came with age―he _was_ old as balls, after all. "He had a point, I must say, about not letting snot-nosed brats throw themselves headfirst into danger. But I've lived long enough to know you can't control people like that… if they're so willing to jump under the truck, you gotta let 'em. And sometimes something good will even come out of it."

He fixes Gold a meaningful look, one that makes him swallow any possible retort that might have been dancing on the tip of his tongue. Instead, Gold just nods, glad to have apparently earned some sort of recognition from the man, and turns towards Lance. He's murmuring about something with Kris, casting vary glances towards the souvenir shop across the street.

"This the place?" Gold asks, cocking his head towards the building.

Lance clears his throat. "Yes, it would seem so."

"Than what are we waiting for?"

Kris scoffs. Lance simply chuckles. "It's good to have that fire, but a bit of strategy never hurt anyone," he says. "And knowing Rocket hideouts, simple brute force is not going be enough to carry us all the way."

"You're right on that, lad," Pryce agrees, joining the conversation. "We'll need wit, as well. And it's probably better to work in pairs, because no one knows what those Rockets have planned for possible intruders."

Lance nods. "On that note, I think it's better if you kids stick together. No matter how bad the Rockets may be, I like to believe they won't be as eager to hurt unknown children on their own as they would be to use you against a veteran gym leader and the League Champion."

Gold and Kris share a nervous look. "Uh, I'm… I'm sorry to burst your bubble," Gold says. "But we won't exactly be _unknown_ to them."

"We already messed up one Rocket operation in Azalea Town," Kris adds. "They probably have our faces in their database."

For a moment, Lance simply stares. Then he bursts out laughing, shaking his head disbelievingly. "Okay, I get it," he laughs out. "In that case, Gold you're with me, and Kris with Pryce, okay?"

The two younger trainers nod, grinning all the while.

"Will do," Pryce agrees. "Now, I recall Mr. Champion saying something about hyper beams?"

Lance blinks, then smirks. "Oh _yes_ ," he mutters mischievously, guiding his dragonite towards the souvenir shop. "I've got just the thing for you."

At his command, the dragon-type lets out a thundering roar, shooting a tremendous beam of energy out of its mouth. The blast hits the shop with a crash, busting right through the door and shattering the windows like they're made of―well, they _are_ made of glass. Or rather _were_.

Gold whistles, impressed. "You really don't pull your punches, do ya?"

All around them, people are leaving their houses, running to the streets to see what caused all the ruckus. From within the shop, shouts and curses can be heard, as the employees scramble out. The blast made for quite a scene, but honestly it looks like Lance _was_ holding in. It wasn't like they wanted to kill anyone, after all. And it seems to have worked quite well―the worst damage being the busted veneer and the light injuries, scratches and what not, on the rocket grunts inside the shop.

Yes, _rocket grunts_ , as a few of them are crawling out of the shop in full costume.

Lance laughs, embarrassed by all the attention. "Well… I'm sure glad that we didn't make a mistake," he admits, eyeing the rockets. "Shall we go in? I'm willing to bet my most prized dragonair that there's more to this shop than just the ground floor."

Together the group enters the shop, hopping over all the rubble and glass shards. Inside it looks like something after a small earthquake, which probably accurately describes the kind of destruction a medium sized dragon could cause. After a moment of snooping around they supposedly find the door to the back, but it actually turns out to be hiding a stairway down to the basement.

"Ah, yes," Lance sighs, peering down the gloomy passage. "Very Team Rocket _chic_."

Gold snorts. "C'mon."

They descend into the basement, wary of any sort of attack. Nothing bad happens though, and as they step through a door into a surprisingly well lit hallway everything is silent. It's actually kind of eerie.

"Okay," Lance calls out, catching everyone's attention. "There seems to be two ways to go, so I think we'll split up now. Pryce and Kris, you go that way, and me and Gold will head to the lower floor. See if you can find the command center or anything at all related to the radio signal. If you do, call me up. Don't try and take on anyone, unless you know you can win. And if you're unsure, just get us for backup. Oh! Pryce, you have my number, right?"

The older man grunts. "Quit fussin' like a distressed madam," he grumbles. "I wasn't born yesterday, boy, an' I sure as hell don't need you orderin' me 'round, champion or not."

Lance chuckles. "Good. We'll see you soon."

Gold catches Kris' eyes and nods. The girl surprises him with a smile, accompanied by a little wave, and then they're off. Lance sets out towards the elevators in the opposite direction, leaving Gold to tail after him and his flowing cape. Not five steps later, and there's suddenly an alarm blaring out from the speakers.

"Those two must've triggered some switch," Lance warrants a guess, hitting the elevator buttons. "But they can handle themselves, I'm sure."

Gold agrees, and the two ride down in tense silence. Once they get to the lower floor, it turns out there's not much they could've done to help Pryce and Kris, as they've soon got their own hands full with battling Team Rocket grunts and bullying some answers out of them. After half an hour or so, Pryce comms them, telling that they've found the so called generator room, but it's password locked. Cue some more tedious battles, and somehow they manage to get a hold of the correct password, meeting up with Kris and Pryce back in the first floor.

"This place is clear of Rockets, huh?" Gold asks, looking around the vacant hallway as Lance and Pryce work on entering the correct code into the lock.

"Should be," Kris replies. "We really did a number on them, and the last guys went running before we even had the chance to battle them."

With his back still turned to them, Pryce barks out a laugh. "Shows what they're really made of, now don't it?"

The door beeps then and slides open. They step into the generator room, vary and careful. And for a reason, too― as soon as they're all in, the doors slide back shut.

" _Shit!_ " Lance shouts, banging the door. It doesn't budge.

"What's going―" Kris starts to say, worry on her brow, but a voice from the overhead speaker's interrupts them. At the same time, a screen on a console in front of them blinks to life.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" On the screen, a female Team Rocket executive is smirking at them. She's around middle-aged, with neatly cut red-hair and all white clothes. "I've apparently managed to capture a noisy little pack of _rats_." She laughs at her own joke. Nobody else does though. It's not funny.

"What are you planning to do with us?" Lance asks, almost politely, and Gold really thinks he's far too calm. In situations like these, the guy could get a little more fired up, instead of being all blank faced. He's the champion for Mew's sake, he should act all cool and shit, like he usually did on TV. "You must know, we're not going to stop until we've destroyed whatever's causing that radio signal and harming all the pokémon. And since we're already in here, there's not much you can do to stop us."

"Oh no, my dear champion," the woman swoons, leering evilly. "You're exactly where I want you. See, I don't care that you're going to destroy the transmitter, go ahead and do it! It was all just for practice, after all."

Lance frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she says, "that we've got something much bigger coming. Not that you'll ever find out what it is." She laughs some more. Gold scoffs. "I'm about to blow the generator, you see. Not like we have any use for it, now that we're finished here. And it just so happens that you're exactly, oh, I would say… five feet from it."

Wait― _what?_

Gold looks frantically around himself, trying to figure out how they're supposed to escape this situation. Surely there must be some way. He looks up to Lance for guidance, but the dragon tamer is totally lost to him. He's gone pale as a sheet, staring intently at the woman on the screen.

"Say your prayers," she sing-songs. Gold screwed his eyes shut. Maybe it won't be so bad, if he doesn't look. "Cause it's about to get real ug― _umph!_ "

… _'umph'?_

Gold opens his eyes. On the screen, the woman is no longer alone and no longer smiling. Instead, she's been pushed out of her seat and is now standing a bit further from the camera, holding her cheek. And next to him stands…

" _Silver?!_ " Gold yells. The boy doesn't respond, instead glaring at the red-haired woman in front of him. Seeing them next to each other, there's something strangely similar about the two. And it isn't just the hair color or the malicious scowl. Gold feels a trickle of dread run down his spine.

" _You―_!" The woman screeches. She rather sounds like a character from a horror movie cast, and not one of the innocent blondes that die first, either. It's probably not something that she would be proud of. "How _dare_ you?"

"Step down, Ariana," Silver says. His voice is low and dangerous, unlike anything Gold has heard from him before. He's partially turned away, but from what Gold can gauge of his expression, he seems pissed beyond imagination―so fucking furious, that he's actually calm. "You've done your thing. Let them go. You have thirty seconds to get the fuck out of here, or I won't be held accountable for the consequences."

Ariana, apparently if Silver is to be trusted, grimaces. "Isn't that a bit cold, Silver darling? Greeting your own aunt with a sucker punch and threats?"

Gold's stomach drops.

"Did he just say 'aunt'?" He whispers. Nobody even notices.

Silver snarls, lunging forward. The woman tries to step back, falling down as Silver drags her out of the frame.

"You should be working together with me, Silver!" The woman's voice calls, just a hint of desperation in her tone. "Don't you want to see your family again?"

"After what you did to mom?" Even through the speakers, Silver yell is so full of hatred, so full of pain that Gold feels himself choke up. "After what you did to your sister?"

There are sounds of a scuffle, pokémon being released from their balls into a fight and then―silence.

After a moment that feels like a small eternity, Silver's voice comes once more, broken and quiet, almost too quiet for them to hear.

"No… I've got no family left."

Gold swears then, unabashed and loud. He can't help it―he just suddenly realizes with the force of a thousand rampaging donphans what a raging asshole he's been. No wonder Silver had wanted nothing to do with the Rockets. No wonder he'd been so hell bent on not letting them get involved. And Gold just had to go and act all high and mighty, and preach about protecting those close to you.

Just what the _hell_ did he know?

Silver appears back in the frame, scowling and looking more than a little frazzled, but still in one piece. He does not even _look_ at Gold. "I'll open the lock for you," he says, short and simple, devoid of emotion. "Before you exit, get rid of the electrodes, it's the only way to stop the transmitter without blowing the place up."

"Will do," says Lance.

And after that the screen goes dark.

-x-

As regrettable as the whole process is, discharging the electrodes does go fairly painlessly. Afterwards, they head out of the basement, a ragtag group of tired and somewhat defeated trainers, gym leaders and champions. Outside Lance is first torn from them to negotiate with the local police on what to do with the captured rocket grunts. Then Pryce departs as well, pulled into a debate over the repairs of the wrecked souvenir shop. Gold and Kris keep walking, silently and unanimously heading towards the pokécenter.

There, leaning against a fence, stands Silver. He has a sneasel sitting on his shoulder, like a little black devil. He doesn't appear to be listening to the pokémon though, as little of an consolation as that is, instead deep in thought. He doesn't even notice Gold and Kris approaching, until the sneasel lets out a warning growl.

He raises his eyes, and just like that Gold finds himself locked in a staring match with the redhead. He very much feels like he's losing, too. He grins nervously, raising his hand in a weak wave.

"Hi, Silv?"

Silver's eyes _twitch_.

"You," he says slowly. Quietly. "Are the most unbelievable, absolutely moronic fucking _idiot_ I have ever met."

Gold winces. Normally he probably would snap back in just as sweet words right about now, but for once he can't really find it in him to get creative with insults. "Yeah," he sighs instead, lowering his head in shame. "I guess that's about right."

Silver sucks in a breath, most likely about to give him a piece of his mind some more.

And then something really fucking weird happens.

Because instead of an insult, a choked sob escapes the boys lips. Gold immediately looks up, and sees Silver, but _not_ the Silver he knows. Because this Silver is shuddering and turning red, and there's water coming out of his eyes, and, _gods,_ he must be sick or something, because what else could explain _this?_

Kris is much faster than him in reacting, marching over and pulling Silver in for a hug. Or trying to, because instead of accepting, Silver brushes past her shoulder, the gesture firm but surprisingly kind, aiming for Gold. Silver's probably going to hit him, Gold realizes about three seconds before he's proven right. But It's not a real punch, not really, more like warning thud against his chest, and just as soon as that's out of the way, Silver's grabbing his shirt and letting his head fall against Gold's shoulder.

"Silver, I―" Gold starts to say, unsure what he's supposed to be doing.

"Just shut the fuck up," Silver snaps.

And, well, okay. Gold can do that.

The redhead sniffs and idly Gold wonders if he's getting snot all over his favorite red hoodie. Probably. But he really can't be bothered to care about that right now.

"You could've fucking _died,_ " Silver says. And right then and there, it finally sinks in. He's right. Gold was _this_ close to actually fucking losing his life.

Suddenly out of breath, he gasps, hands involuntarily coming up, trying to grip a hold of something for support. The only thing they find is Silver.

"Stop," Silver says, and really, not the best way to calm someone on the brink of a panic attack, but, for Arceus knows why, it _works_. "Just be still. And fucking listen to me."

Gold wheezes, trying to nod. Instead he kinda awkwardly rubs his cheek against the top of Silver's hair. Which, he guesses, is cool too.

"You are _never_ ," Silver trembles along with the emotion in his words, "doing anything that stupid ever again."

"I'm not," Gold says. He probably sounds way too unsure, because Silver growls, displeased.

"Again," he demands. "Swear it."

"I promise, I won't pull stupid stunts like that," says Gold. "I'm sorry."

Silver lets out a soft sigh. For a moment longer they stay like that, before the redhead pulls away, looking slightly embarrassed. He's safe though, because Gold must look way worse, with how warm his cheeks feel.

"Finished?" Kris chooses to ask then. She looks a bit miffed, what with how Silver just pushed her out of the way in his haste to hug Gold. Which, _wow_ , he _really_ should not be thinking about it like that.

Silver nods. "Yeah. Let's go eat."

Gold releases a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. "Oh thank Mew," he whines. "I could eat a whole ponyta right about now."

Silver doesn't snort, not like he usually would've, but his lips quirk up slightly. It's better than nothing.

Unfortunately though, they don't get even as far as the cafeteria. Because as soon as they step in, every single one of the teens realizes that something is terribly _wrong_. Because every single trainer, nurse and other staff member in the pokécenter is gathered in the back of the lobby, around the sole TV set in the room.

On the screen, the Team Rocket symbol stands menacingly against a simple black background, while a message plays out, over and over again, from the speakers.

 _"This is Team Rocket speaking to all citizens of Johto and Kanto. Three years ago we we're disbanded, but now we have returned, stronger than ever. We are calling out to out one and only leader, Don Giovanni. Boss, wherever you are, please hear our call and return to us. Together we will make Team Rocket great again!"_

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Gold cries out, throwing his hands up.

"They must've taken over the Goldenrod Radio Tower," Kris says, biting her lip. She sometimes does that when she's thinking too hard on something. "There's no other place they could override all broadcasts from."

"Well, good for them!" Gold scoffs. "Now that they've efficiently announced their location to the whole world, all that there's left to do is for the League or Interpol to swoop in and collect them. So much for that come-back, huh?"

He throws Silver a mirthful look, only to find the boy staring at the TV in apparent shock.

"Uh…" Gold drawls. "Silv?"

Silver tears his eyes from the screen, meeting his searching look. His face is blank. _Blank._

"I―" he says and suddenly Gold feels like something terrible is about to happen. "I need to go."

And just like that, he's gone.

"What the fuck?!" Gold yells, running after him. "Silver!"

"Go back inside," Silver yells back, digging out a pokéball. "This doesn't fucking concern you!"

Gold follows suite, calling out his noctowl just as Silver climbs onto his golbat's back. "Excuse me? After that whole moment or whatever the fuck we just had― I think it does!"

Silver throws him a scathing look, Golbat spreading its wings and taking off. "Get lost, Gold!"

"No fucking way!" Gold shouts, trying to make himself heard in the wind only to get all kinds of dirt in his mouth. There's a reason people normally never talked while flying. "Not if you don't tell me where the hell you're even going!"

Silver lets out a shout that despite the sound of wind blocking his ears reaches Gold, loud and clear. It's a near primal roar of anger and sorrow and everything dark. In his chest, Gold's heart constricts painfully.

Silver turns on Golbat's back, but does not slow the pokémon down. His eyes are once again full of tears. "I'm going to fucking _kill_ Giovanni!"He screams.

And there is nothing Gold can do, then, but watch him fly off on his naturally faster pokémon, disappearing further and further away.

"Not like I wanted to know why," he mutters bitterly into the wind.

There is no response.

-x-

Riding on Noctowl towards Goldenrod, Gold has some time to just sit back and _think_. Well, not really sit _back_ and think, since he's hanging onto the bird pokémon for his dear life, but it isn't like he could use the time for anything else.

So think he does.

The day has been so full of shocking turns he almost doesn't know where to begin. First meeting Lance and capturing the red gyarados, saving Silver from drowning, yelling at him for being a pussy, and then getting his own ass rescued from certain death. And the glimpse into Silver's past.

So, the redhead's mother had been―what, killed by the Rockets, despite being the sister of one of the higher ranking executives? Even with the scene they witnessed in the basement, there are too few facts and too many unresolved questions to go by. What he _really_ needs is for Silver to tell him _everything_. But the guy really didn't seem willing to sit down and do just that. Instead he had to go running off, clearly distraught by the Rockets' newest stunt with the radio broadcast, and proclaim he would be killing Giovanni.

Did the ex-Rocket _boss_ kill his mom? Who even knows.

Gold sighs and tightens his grip on Noctowl's feathers. No use in falling to his death, no matter how much frustration Silver was causing him.

He wonders what Silver's childhood must've been like. Pretty bad, all things considered, he guesses. But there must've been some good things as well, seeing how much Silver seemed to miss his mom. And thinking of that, it's no wonder why the boy is so fucked up. Arceus only knows how bad Gold would be if he'd lost his mother.

 _And it's not like Silver's all bad_ , he supposes. No, Silver was―

Silver _is_ ―

He groans, shaking his head. He has no idea what to think of the boy. On one hand, he finds him frustrating beyond belief. Like, for real, the guy is a grade A asshole. But on the other, he kinda, maybe really… _likes_ the guy. For whatever reason. He enjoys his crooked sense of humor, and though the way he deals with even the slightest failure is questionable at best, he _is_ undoubtedly an excellent tactician with a great natural capacity for battling.

During the past few weeks they've been growing closer and closer in ways Gold never could've imagined back when they first started out. So maybe they are friends now? But even that feels off, somehow. Like it doesn't fit completely. The feeling he has around Silver is not the same kind of feeling he has with Lyra, where he just enjoys the girl's energy and is always really happy to be with her. It's not even the same as his undoubtedly shaky relationship with Kris, where they would both snark at each other one day, and get along seamlessly the next. It's kind of similar, but with Silver it's almost as if there's some sort of a freaky pull, dragging him towards the boy, and no matter how badly they fight, they somehow always end up back together.

Putting it like that almost sounds like they're a bickering couple, and _that_ is enough to make him pause.

It… wasn't like that, was it? No, it really couldn't be. Right?

Cheeks burning, he thinks back on the few times Silver has been unconditionally nice, like when on the route to Mahogany he gave Gold the black apricot he'd found, because Gold could use it more. Or like when in Cianwood he barely laughed when Gold got caught off guard by a wild krabby and fell on his ass in the sea, never mentioning the embarrassing moment to Kris. And he recalls Silver's smiles, all the soft, barely there ones when he is looking at his pokémon and doesn't think anyone will notice him being sentimental, and all the little smirks and challenging grins when Gold has done something he actually considered funny or whenever he's won a match. He thinks of Silver's hair, about how long it is and how soft it always looks like when he has just brushed it, and how much Gold has always liked the color. And then he thinks of Silver's personality and his freaky mood swings and all his cryptic little comments and secrets and basically _all_ the things that made up to him.

And he realizes that he's undeniably in love with the fucking asshole.

" _Fuck me_ ," Gold whispers, unable to stop the flood of thoughts—and the unwanted images due to the _not that well thought out_ profanity—that follows.

He is gay now, or something. He remembers Kris joking about it in Olivine and feels embarrassment wash over him like warm water. It isn't like he has any problem with his supposed new orientation or anything, because to be perfectly honest Gold never had any interest in girls before either and he's always kind of had this idol crush on Red, so it's not that big of a shock. What he _finds_ surprising, is that apparently he has appalling taste in potential love interests, because _honestly_. _Silver_.

Gold groans, burrowing his head into Noctowl's neck. The bird lets out a questioning craw, flying steadily as ever even as Gold is experiencing some sort of an existential crisis. It's a good thing he can at least rely on his pokémon, because his brain doesn't feel like much to count on in the current situation.

 _How the hell did this even happen?_ Gold keeps pondering the question for the remaining duration of the flight, coming to no other conclusion except that he must be some sort of a masochist. Why in the name anything anywhere _ever_ would he want to bang a dude whose main source of amusement seems to be insulting Gold and everything he loves?

He winces at the thought. Oh god, does he really want to _bang_ Silver? What the hell is _wrong_ with him?

He lands into Goldenrod still trying to come to terms with the idea, but with all the hustle and bustle in the city such thoughts are soon forgotten. Policemen, Rocket grunts, and trainers alike are running up and down the streets with their pokémon, as if everyone wants to be everywhere at once. At one corner, a police lady is beating up three rockets simultaneously in a seriously inspiring show of valor. In another, a young girl is crying, holding her beaten up farfetch'd in her arms. Gold chucks some potions at her, pointing and yelling her the directions to the pokécenter through the noise. Above all the panic and disorder looms the radio tower, like a shadow of misfortune upon them all.

Gold grits his teeth and starts running, calling out his quilava to run alongside him. As they make their way closer to the radio tower it becomes much too obvious that there is no chance of getting through—at least not via the main roads. A barricade of closer to four dozen rocket grunts is standing guard with their teams up and ready to kick some ass, and the trainers and police fighting back are way underpowered and much too disorganized in their attempts to deal any real damage. Whenever one Rocket falls another one just pops up and replaces them.

Gold slows down, peering around as he keeps walking. He doesn't see Silver anywhere, and given how driven he was there is _no way_ he would have just given up. So there must be some other route to the radio tower, some hidden pathway that the people are overlooking in all this chaos. But where?

Just then, he spots a familiar face amidst the crowd, his heart nearly skipping a beat.

"Lyra!" Gold yells, his voice disappearing into all the ruckus around them. " _Oh, for fucks_ — LYRA! _LY!_ "

Finally his voice seems to reach the girl's ears, her head perking up and turning wildly around until spotting Gold.

"Gold!" She yells in response running towards him. Gold notices then she at least has Marill with her—not that the mouse pokémon would be use in a real fight, being more used to using its baby-doll eyes for acquiring behind-the-ear rubs than battling. "Gold, I'm so glad I found you!"

"Well, I'm definitely _not_!" Gold exclaims, probably sounding very nearly hysterical. "What the _fuck_ are you doing here, Ly? It's dangerous!"

For a second she looks at him like she can't quite believe he's yelling at her (and honestly, neither can _Gold_ , but then again he's pretty sure he lost at least two years from his life when he spotted Lyra in the middle of the freaking _battlefield,_ so at least it's a _bit_ justified), but the expression soon morphs into a sheepish grin. "Well, as it happens, your other girlfriend called me."

Even despite the situation they're in, Gold takes the moment to let his jaw fall open as a shrill cry of " _What?!_ " escapes his mouth.

"Your friend Kris, who's a girl? The only other girl I've ever seen _or_ heard you hang out with?"

"Sweet fucking _Arceus_ , Lyra, don't put it like _that_!" Gold yells, running a hand through his hair. "I _thought_ —" he stops himself, suddenly mortified. He did _not_ just think of Silver, when Lyra said 'girlfriend'. It's not even logical—Silver's not a girl, and they're not dating, for fucks sake. He really needs to get a grip of himself. " _Argh_ , never mind what I thought!" He continues, annoyed at himself, Lyra, and the whole situation all at once. "That still doesn't explain anything!"

"Well," Lyra began, tugging Gold along with her as they began to inch away from the barricade, "as she explained it, both you and the angry redhead had sprinted off as soon as you heard the Rocket broadcast, not bothering to alert any _real_ help—which, by the way Goldie, not a smart move…" She trails off to waggle her finger at Gold disapprovingly. "But anyway, she wanted me to run over to Whitney's and get her to alert the closest gym leaders, so that they could all meet up when she and the champion would arrive. And since I was here, I thought to myself: ' _where would Gold most likely go in this situation?_ ', and the first answer that came to me was: _'head first into danger'_! So here I am and here _you_ are, and I was freaking _right_ , so don't _you_ lecture _me_ about staying safe, mister!" Lyra finished her explanation with a satisfied huff.

Gold, feeling a bit lost for words for more than one reason, manages to mumble out: "Why didn't they just call Whitney, then?" After a heartbeat, he adds: "And how does Kris even have your number?"

Lyra looks at him like he's a bit simple, but it's okay because she likes him. Gold would feel offended, but at this point he's quite frankly too confused to even care.

"All telecommunications in Goldenrod City are down," she says. "But luckily, our place is _juuuust_ a little too far from whatever the heck is causing all that, so we're fine communications-wise. And the gym leaders have their own system, but apparently it has sucky reach, so they couldn't contact Whitney straight from Mahogany."

"Oh," Gold says dumbly.

Lyra snorts. "And as to your other question, we traded numbers when we met, more specifically, while you and the angry redhead were too busy having your little hissy fit. _Duh!_ "

Huh, well that explains it. And also reveals that despite what she said on the phone, Lyra still isn't quite over Silver being a twat. Not that Gold is sure he _himself_ is over that, but―he has… _other_ interests now.

"Silver," he says, correcting Lyra's rude- _ish_ nickname. "His name is Silver. Also, where are we going now?"

"Bill Sonezaki's house!" Lyra replies cheerily. "You met him before, right? At least Kris told me you did. He's the guy who invented the pokémon storage system, and well, the house is not his as much as his _parents'_ actually, but Goldenrodians are proud of him and like to remember him by… Whitney appointed it as our base of operations, because it was close to something she wanted to check out, or something?"

"A secret passage way to the radio tower?" Gold guesses. It's what he would be looking for―and had been, before his run-in with Lyra.

"I don't― _ohh_ _h_ _!_ " Lyra starts, gasping mid-way through with realization. "The Goldenrod Tunnel! The radio tower, much like almost every large public building in the city, has a built-in emergency passageway leading there!"

"And that's probably what Silver used to sneak in," Gold realizes, biting his lip in worry. " _Fuck_ … let's hurry!"

He takes off with a brisk jog, wondering about the whole thing. The Rockets making their comeback and calling for Giovanni's return… what even was Silver's role in all that? If Gold never finds him before he A) kills someone or B) gets himself killed, he will never likely find out.

Or maybe Kris will tell him. She probably knows everything.

Gold suppresses the irrational surge of jealousy. He'll have more time for that later―what he needs to do right _now_ is concentrate on saving Silver's sorry ass, preferably without having the tables turned on him _again_. And then he can― well. He doesn't know. Half of him feels like he wants to _kick_ Silver's ass, and the other half would very much like to something completely _different_ with the said body part. He grits his teeth, fighting back the beginnings of an embarrassed flush.

As he and Lyra continue on their way, ducking into a less used alleyway, he thinks that there is a high chance that this crush will be the death of him, but really― for Silver he's willing to take the risk.

-x-

-x-

 **A/N** : _omg._

No but seriously, my favorite part was writing Gold's not-exactly-gay panic. I've focused on many different characters' insecurities about their own sexuality in past stories, so it was refreshing to have Gold just accept that part with a shrug.

Overall, we are about half-way through. Thanks for all the feedback until now, I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying the story!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

They run for the rest of the way, Lyra dragging behind a bit because she, although athletic enough, has not spent the majority of the past few months on her feet. As they near the Sonezaki household, Gold can see a vaguely familiar figure scoop down from the sky on his Pidgeot and knock on the door. Running closer reveals him to be Violet City's gym leader Falkner. The man lifts his hand in greeting, face impassive. The door opens then to reveal Leader Bugsy from Azalea.

"Hey, Falkner!" He grins. "I was surprised when Morty arrived without you!"

Falkner looks annoyed, stepping past him inside without even a hello.

Bugsy just chuckles, almost turning to close the door before he notices Gold and Lyra stepping onto the porch. "Oh, I remember you!" He says, pointing at Gold. "Your name was, uhhh…. Gold?"

"Got it in one," Gold says between heavy breaths. He might be pretty fit, but they did just run half across Goldenrod City. "And this is my friend, Lyra."

"Nice to meet ya!" Bugsy calls, winking at Lyra, who just beams.

They all step inside, walking into a comfortably sized living room where Falkner and, as mentioned, Morty from Ecruteak City are sitting and apparently arguing quietly amongst themselves. They stop immediately as the other three step into the room, and all five of them promptly begin to update each other on what they all know about the situation. Barely five minutes later there's a noise outside, and they all stumble out to meet Whitney, who's tending to her miltank's slight injury.

"Glad you could all make it," Whitney says, smiling at the three other gym leaders.

She doesn't get any further than that before a loud cry echoes from the sky above them, and a large orange dragon lands on the clearing in front of the house, carrying both Champion Lance and a rather disarrayed looking Kris. Somehow, Gold is glad to see her, and he idly wonders if and when they too became friends, offering the girl a shy wave and a smile as a greeting. Kris, for her part, just flips him off and joins them on the ground.

"Hello, everyone," Lance calls out. "Sorry we're a bit late!"

"Lance!" Whitney cries, running up to hug the man tight as soon as he's able to slide down from Dragonite's back. Spotting her, Lance smiles wide and responds her hug enthusiastically, going as far as lifting her up from the ground for a few seconds. Even as they break apart with smiles on both their faces Whitney's hand remains circled around Lance's wrist.

"Let's go inside," Whitney says, dragging Lance along. "I have a plan."

Lance laughs helplessly, letting himself be led. "I knew you would."

Gold finds the whole exchange more than a bit surprising. Next him, however, Morty and Falkner share a knowing look, until they seem to remember they're fighting, or something, at which Falkner snaps his head away and marches in after Whitney and Lance. Morty turns to offer Bugsy a shrug and follows suit, leaving behind the chuckling bug type trainer and three slightly confused teenagers.

"What's… up with them?" Lyra asks cautiously.

"Which _'them'_ do you mean?" Bugsy smirks teasingly, but then continues without being prompted again. "No but really… heck if I know! Whitney and Lance have this thing where they act like a lovestruck couple whenever they happen to be at the same place at the same time, but they still insist they're not dating… probably will be in less than a year or so, though. I have actual money riding on that."

Gold suddenly remembers something crucial he had forgotten, even when he'd been in Goldenrod the previous time, battling Whitney.

"Ohhh!" He exclaims. "Whitney was the previous champion, right? Lance beat her last year!"

"Yeah," Bugsy confirmed. "And being the one _she_ beat before that, I can attest that even though Lance is strong, Whitney is _waaay_ stronger. But she let him win, and now we're here!"

Gold blinks. He remembers having some trouble beating Whitney, maybe just a bit more than usual, but not that much. More than her being somehow incredible he remembers her peppering her talk with the words "totally" and the way she burst into tears after her defeat. Was all that an _act_?

Before he can ask anything, Bugsy goes on with his story, changing the topic slightly. "And if you're wondering about Morty and Falkner― well. Those two _are_ dating, even though it certainly doesn't look that way right now. But they're basically always fighting… or at least Falkner is!"

He laughs at his own assessment, finally reaching for the door handle. "C'mon, we better get inside before they start wondering."

He winks, holding the door open for the girls. Gold follows them, unsure. The day is turning out to be full of revelations. "Huh," he breathes out, more to himself than anything.

Kris gives him a dark look, but doesn't say anything.

Inside, they once more file into the living room, but everyone seems to be too antsy to sit down. Gold idly wonders where the actual residents of the house themselves are, but it's not like he really cares. He has more important things on his mind. Like finding out what the hell is Whitney's game plan, and how he can save Silver.

Speaking of which, Whitney clears her throat right then.

"So," she says. "Earlier, I ran to check the Goldenrod Tunnel, right beneath the city. It has an emergency channel leading into the Radio Tower, and I have some news, both good and bad."

Everyone in the room perks up. Gold passes Lyra a grin and a thumbs-up―she had got it right.

"The place is _not_ unguarded, so it would seem that the Rockets are not dumb," Whitney continues. " _However_ , the number of grunts there is remarkably lesser than the number roaming the streets and guarding all above-ground entryways to the tower. I made some calculations, and I think― _think_ ―that we could break in from the inside with the force we have."

Bugsy whistles, pleased. "Alright! Way to go, Whitney!" He grins at the girl, who respond with a smaller smile of her own.

"So how should we do it?" Lance asks. He's standing―somewhat surprisingly considering their earlier interactions―a few meters away from the girl. "You said you had a plan, yes?"

Whitney nods. "Yeah, I do, but there are few points that need to be addressed," she looks around the room, eyes lingering somewhat longer on the younger trainers. Gold furrows his brows. "Firstly, there is a battle going on out there, and we need someone to act as leader to the masses trying to break the barricade. It needs to be a convincing attempt too, so that the Rockets will think that's where we're hitting the hardest. And that job is unsuitable, not to mention dangerous for our… guest stars."

She smiles at Kris and Gold. "Sorry, guys, I know you're very capable kids, but we need an actual authority at the front lines."

"No, we get it," Kris says. "What could we do instead?"

"Well, the other point I wanted to bring to your attention is that the emergency entryway is blocked by a heavy, hard to move door, which a couple of Rocket grunts are currently guarding. Those Rocket grunts are the key to our success―if we want to move unnoticed, we need to ambush them, take their uniforms and have someone stay behind as fake guards while the rest slip in."

Lance hits his palm with a fist. "Yeah," he breathes. "That's― that's good."

Gold grimaces as he remembers Lance's own planning skills from earlier that day―or lack thereof. It's good everyone agrees that Whitney is leading the operation, and not the champion.

"I'm… I'm actually not a trainer," Lyra pipes up then, looking sheepish. "I mean, I have Marill with me, but I can't battle." Even if she never wanted to become a trainer, in that moment Lyra looks really, really embarrassed. Gold reaches to brush her shoulder, because for fuck sake― she's perfect the way she is, even if she can't command pokémon to fight. "Just thought I should let you know."

Whitney shoulders sag, her lips turning upwards in a calming smile. "That's okay," she reassures her. Lyra dares a small smile, as Whitney continues: "So, I think the best plan of action is for Morty and Falkner to handle the situation outside, while Bugsy, me and Lance break in. And you two," she directs her words to Kris and Gold, "will stay behind and pretend to guard the door. It's likely the safest job, but important nonetheless."

"No," Gold says immediately. Staying behind? While Silver could be in the Radio Tower getting killed. Or killing someone. Gold doesn't know which is worse, because if Silver actually manages to murder someone he's going to have to help him hide the body― _which_ , by the way, he _really_ won't be able to do that if he's sitting duck at the doorway of emergency exit. So basically, the whole plan is stupid. Or well, maybe not the _whole_ whole plan, but some parts of it, anyways, and he needs to let them know he's not up for that kind of BS. "You're all ignoring that Silver is somewhere in there."

Whitney blinks. "Your… friend who ran off, right? We're going to save him, of course. As soon as we find him, we'll be able to protect him and guide him out of harm's way."

Gold grimaces. That… _doesn't_ seem very likely to happen, given Silver's character. And anyways, he wants to be the one to save Silver, _dammit!_ "I am _not_ staying behind while you bust in there to save him. Even if you try, I'll just run after you. It's― it's _Silver_. So you really _need_ you to take me with."

And there they have it.

The girls―Kris, Lyra, and especially Whitney―all give him odd looks, but Lance (thankfully) hums in contemplation and nods.

"Alright," he says. "I get you."

And right at that point, warning sirens start blaring in Gold's head, because― _oh shit_ , what if he really _gets_ him and is now about to reveal Gold's embarrassing, ill-timed crush to his only two friends and half of Johto's gym leaders? He is going to lose his face for the rest of his life. And since the odds of Silver actually liking him back range from highly-unlikely to _even-Jirachi-couldn't-make-it-fucking-happen,_ and Kris can't be trusted to save her own life by keeping her mouth shut near Silver, Gold is going to have to become a hermit and live at, like, Mt. Silver or something where he will be forced to remain for the rest of his miserable existence, while constantly being reminded of just who landed him in that mess.

Luckily though, Lance doesn't reveal any of that. Instead, he says: "I get the feeling that you need to be there _personally_ for your friend. And even with my somewhat limited acquaintance of this Silver boy, I think our chances of _actually_ pulling him out of harm's way would improve immensely by having someone he knows and trusts around." He offers Gold a tight, but genuine smile. There is, though, something akin to a knowing glint in his eyes, like he hadn't exactly said what he really means, but can't bring himself to say it because of the situation.

Gold, feeling like he just dodged a snorlax-sized bullet because of Lance's _tact_ , grins weakly. "Yeah, exactly."

"So, we change roles then, or what?" Whitney pipes up, still eyeing Gold suspiciously. Beneath the cover of her ditzy happy-go-lucky disposition the girl really _is_ far too sharp, so maybe Bugsy had been right about her apparent prowess as a trainer. "Bust in, beat the guards, Bugsy and Kris stay behind as guards, Me, Lance, and Gold break in, while Morty and Falkner are out acting as a decoy?"

Gold finds it interesting she's quicker to nominate Bugsy as the guard than herself. She must want to be near Lance, he guesses. Somehow, it's a feeling he can understand.

"Hmm, almost," Lance contemplates. He looks apologetic, like he's about to break her some unwanted news. "I think _you_ , alone, would make a much better decoy than Morty and Falkner. That way we would have more fire power inside, where it's needed. Since you're the local gym leader, it makes sense for you to be there, trying to lead the people. Better yet, if you can succeed in breaking the barricade, it'll make our job so much easier!"

Whitney looks baffled. "And how the heck do you suppose I _do_ that? There's at least 100 Rockets out there and I would be going against them with my four gym trainers and around 35 police officers."

Lance smirks then, his teeth almost glinting with how white they appear, and steps closer to Whitney to place his hand on her shoulder. "Whitney, darling," he says charmingly, and Whitney begins to blush. "I happen to know for fact that you are absolutely _terrifying_ when you make use of all that tactical genius of yours. Which is _exactly_ what I expect you to do now, as your reigning champion."

Whitney, still flushing pink, closes her eyes and takes a deep, shuddering breath.

When she opens them again, there is a completely different looking person standing where there used to be a bubbly 19-year old with an odd fixation on both the color pink and the word ' _totally'_. The Whitney now standing amongst them looks like a hero of war or something, her shoulders squared and a keen, intelligent look in her steeled eyes.

"Yes, sir," she says simply.

Lances gives her a tight smile, turning to face the rest of them. "Everyone understand the plan? Any questions?"

Morty raises her hand. "Actually," he drawls out. His speech style is kind of lazy, like he's high or something all the fucking time. Personally, Gold can't understand what Falkner sees in him. But then again, he has his dick out for Silver, _so_. "I think… I mean, I invited one more person to join us."

Lance looks more than a little surprised. "You _did_?"

"Yeah," Morty replies. "He should be here any moment now."

Right after the words left his mouth, the front door slams open.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen," comes the voice of none other than Kris' fateful Suicune knight, Eusine. "Your help has arrived!"

"Great." Gold facepalms. " _Just_ what we needed."

Kris smacks him on the back of his head.

"Well," Lance says, speaking for them all, "eight trainers are better than seven, I guess?"

 _Yeah, you guess_ , Gold thinks but doesn't voice it aloud in case of Kris' retribution. Suddenly he realizes, that if Silver were here he would be snickering right alongside Gold. The thought makes him physically ache with longing.

He really needs to get the boy back― _soon_.

-x-

After a fast and much needed snack, Whitney is the first one in the group to leave, hugging Lance briefly before heading straight to the barricade. Lance watches her leave with a hard to decipher look on his face, almost as if he's both happy and unhappy to see her off. Gold thinks he can understand, but then again maybe not.

Gold himself says his goodbyes to Lyra, who has agreed to stay behind and out of harm's way to the best of her ability. Kris hugs the girl as well, making Gold wonder how much they've actually been texting while he hasn't been paying attention. After that, it's time for them all to head down towards the underground and Goldenrod Tunnel. The trip is short enough to pass smoothly, and especially Falkner seems to have enough knowledge of the local geography to lead them smartly and in a straight line towards their target.

Once there, it turns out everything is just as Whitney described it: the heavy door to the emergency pathway is guarded by three guards in total. The Rockets seem relaxed enough, loitering around, browsing their pokégear apps. It works just as fine for their infiltration team, because it only takes a surprise hypnosis-attack from Morty's haunters to take them down, followed by Bugsy's bugs tying them away with string shot after they've been stripped of their uniforms.

Then, however, they realize they have a problem, only possessing three uniforms while there are seven of them in total. Luckily, Lance rationalizes the plan, so that Kris and Eusine, who will be staying behind as guards, will get two of them, while Gold will get the remaining one.

"It works better on you than us, since our faces are well-known nationwide," Lance explains it. "When we're spotted, instead of immediately calling for backup, seeing you will make the Rockets a bit less wary, as they'll think you're already trying to stop us. And if the going gets too tough, you can easily slip away."

Gold scoffs. "As if."

Lance just grins at him, slightly manic. Gold knows they're letting him come along only because they have no choice, but he's going to prove them that he's more than capable of doing this. He _has_ to.

So, a change of clothes later and they're on their way. The pathway is initially very narrow and dark, leading them to another closed door. After going through, they emerge in a more well-lit maze of corridors thankfully adorned with signs pointing them in the right direction. After some five minutes of walking (and running), they come across the first Rocket grunt and take her down swiftly.

After that, the number of Rockets roaming the corridors increases steadily, but they're still making progress pretty easily. As they finally reach the door leading to the Radio Tower, Lance halts them.

"Wait," he says, lifting his arm to block the way. "Something's wrong."

"What do you mean?" Gold asks, spying the door from behind the man's cape. "Looks like a regular door to me."

"Nothing's wrong with the door," Lance replies. "It's just…"

"The Rockets," Falkner says. "They've been acting strange. You noticed it too, right?"

Lance nods. "Everyone we've faced so far… it's like they're already panicked and under attack. Plus, there are have been quite a few of them down here, even though there's no logical reason for that, and yet, this door is completely unguarded." He frowns. "Somebody must've gone through here before us."

Gold connects the dots in his head, then. "Silver," he says. "It's gotta be Silver."

Lance nods. "I thought so too," he says. "Though I can't imagine how he's doing it all by himself, he must be doing something right, because the Rockets we've faced so far suggest it's _them_ who are losing."

Gold feels a sudden shiver run down his spine, a bit crazed grin spreading on his lips. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

 _As long as he hasn't killed anyone yet._

"So, are we going in, or what?" Morty asks then.

Lance nods. "Yeah, let's go."

He opens the door, leading them into a spacious basement, crammed full of shelves holding all kinds of boxes and electronics. There aren't, however, any Team Rocket members nor anyone else around, giving the whole place an eerie, abandoned air. They pick up their pace, running to the elevators, which appear to be jammed. With no other option, they head to the stairway, running up two floors without encountering anyone.

That's when the noise reaches their ears.

It sounds like hundreds of people are shouting and marching outside the building. Very carefully, Lance opens the door to reveal the main lobby of the Radio Tower, where a swift attack by Falkner and Morty takes out the stray Rockets hanging around, guarding the Radio Tower personnel held hostage in a corner. They all run to remove their ropes and gags.

"They all ran outside," one of the ladies usually working at front desk sobs. "Someone came in earlier, yelling for everyone to move out."

"Do you know where the executives are?" Lance asks in calm, reassuring voice.

The woman shakes her head. "No… but I'd imagine at the top, in the Director's room, where the main controls are. That's how they're overriding all national channels to broadcast their own message."

"Thank you," Lance smiles at her. "You've been tremendously brave, and you're all safe now."

The woman blinks back her tears, smiling weakly at him. Lance responds with a brilliant smile of his own, directing all the hostages downstairs towards the emergency exit, where they should be able to reach Kris and Eusine undisturbed. After that, he turns towards the rest of them.

"Morty, Bugsy, you two head out," he commands with all the authority of dragon clan master and a regional league champion. "Whitney's doing her best, but with your pokémon and the unexpected attack from behind, you'll be guaranteed to win."

The two trainers nod in tandem, immediately running towards the doors while calling out their pokémon.

Lance watches them go with a pleased look, but only for a second before he turns back to Gold and Falkner.

"Now, here's the important part," he says to them, voice dead serious. "We need to beat the executives, and even with the power we have, it's no easy task. The Rockets are strong, have always been, and they still have the director and other staff members scooped up somewhere."

"What should we do?" Gold asks. His thoughts are on Silver, eyes darting around furiously as if trying to find him somewhere, anywhere, nearby. He doesn't want to imagine Silver already being upstairs, near the executives.

Lance looks pained suddenly. "That's the problem," he says. "I don't really want to do it like I'm thinking, but it's our best shot."

Gold burrows his brows. "What?" He manages to ask, before he _gets_ it. " _Oh_ , you want me to go up there alone!"

Lance hums in confirmation. "We'd be right behind you, of course," he says. "We only need you to burst in, cause a little disruption, and then we'll attack."

Gold nods frantically. _Finally_ , he has a chance to work solo. This way he can make sure Silver gets saved. "Let's do it."

They run all the way up to the top, the sounds from outside constantly growing louder and louder. Gold thinks they must be winning, both because he trusts Whitney and the rest to do their job and because he'd rather not think of the alternative. It passes his mind that maybe Silver is outside, in the middle of the fight, but he discards the thought right away. It's nigh impossible―Silver is aiming for the boss, so of course he'd be where the executives are.

Finally, they reach the top floor. Before Gold steps into the hallway, Lance puts his hand on his shoulder, offering him a meaningful look. "Stay safe."

Gold nods wordlessly, reaching for the door handle. He steps into an empty hallway with offices on both sides. At the end, there is a large door, marked "Director's office". That's where he's going. He runs forward busting through the door while mentally rehearsing his lines.

The first thing he sees inside is a middle-aged man tied to a chair.

The second thing he sees is Silver, squirming on the ground, and the words die on his lips.

"You fucking _idiot_ ," Silver rasps out.

And then the world goes black.

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** sorry! :'D

No but seriously, I apologize for almost forgetting to update this, I've been really busy. The next update will be quicker, because I'm guessing you don't want to stay in the dark (hah!) for too long.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** So, I don't usually do trigger warnings, but this chapter contains some pretty heavy discussion. If you're easily unsettled, proceed with caution.

-x-

-x-

 **Chapter 6**

When Gold comes to, he's tucked in a bed in a brightly lit room with white walls.

 _So I'm in the hospital now_ , he thinks. _Great, mom's gonna love this._

Something stirs by his side, and a few second later he hears Silver's questioning voice.

"Gold?" He asks. "Are you awake?"

Gold tries to reply, but finds that his voice doesn't quite work like he expected it to, so he only manages a dry croak that maybe distantly resembles a 'yes'. Silver stumbles up from the chair he'd been sitting (or sleeping) on, reaching for the bedside table and the glass of water that had been placed on it. He helps Gold into more of an upright position, before thrusting the glass in his hands.

"Drink," he commands.

Gold does as he's told while thinking that Silver's bedside manner is just as terrible as he'd expected. He still feels his heart constrict with sheer fondness and relief, seeing that the boy is mostly alright, apart from a little scratch on his cheek and some bandages around his wrist.

"Wh-what happened?" Gold asks, when he's finished half a glass and is finally able to produce comprehensible speech.

"You were an idiot," Silver replies. "That's what happened."

Now that Gold sees him properly, he realizes that even without major injuries he looks _awful_. There are bags underneath his eyes, like he hasn't slept in days, and his eyes are puffy and red from crying, most likely. Unless he has pollen allergies that are suddenly acting up. In late November.

"With the Radio Tower?" Gold specifies. "Is everyone alright? Did they capture the bad guys?"

Silver doesn't as much as smile at his word choices. He must be pretty mad. "Miraculously yes," he says. "After you triggered the trap the Rockets had set in case of intruders, Cape and Birdie broke in and rained down a barrage of attacks on Archer and the rest. I think Petrel managed to get away, but he always was a fucking _rat_." Silver sneers. Gold saintly recognizes the name as the one Team Rocket executive he'd fought together with Kris in Azalea Town. "They made Archer broadcast that Team Rocket was disbanded, and the Rocket grunts outside either fled or were captured. Oh, and the rest of the Radio Tower staff was rescued from an unused storage space in the Goldenrod Department Store's basement."

"So everything turned out fine?" Gold asks, closing his eyes. His head is kinda throbbing, but he feels relieved all the same. "That's good."

"No," Silver spits. "It's _not_ fucking ' _good'_. You broke your promise. You almost got yourself _killed_. While wearing a goddamn _Rocket uniform_."

Gold opens one eye to peer at him. "So?" He asks. "I didn't die. I'm sorry about making you worry, but it's not like you're much different. I remember seeing you writhing on the floor in pain."

Silver grits his teeth. "They wouldn't have killed me," he says. "It's not the same."

"What, because your aunt was one of them?" Gold snaps. "Didn't seem like she had much adoration towards you."

"No!" Silver suddenly yells, throwing up his arms. "Not because of fucking Ariana, because of _my_ ― Because my―" His voice crumbles as he falls down, sitting back down on the chair. He covers his face in his hands, breathing through the cracks between his fingers. "Because my _dad_ is _Giovanni_."

Gold stops breathing. _"What?"_

"You heard me," Silver says. "Giovanni is my father. When Team Rocket disbanded six years ago and he disappeared, my mother committed suicide. She just—just _hanged_ herself, and I found her swinging from the chandelier like a goddamn _ragdoll._ " He takes a shuddering breath. "I was just turning nine then. He'd never used the name Giovanni at home, so I wasn't aware of his identity and I had no idea what had happened to him. Ariana took me away to Johto, the police didn't know her then. She was cruel, very unlike my mother. I later learned that it was through her that my mother had met Giovanni, back when Giovanni and his closest associates had just been starting out. All kinds of people kept visiting us... Proton, Pertel… Archer. They all had managed to slip away, because Giovanni had taken the blame and disappeared."

Silver's hands start shaking, and he brings them down, holding onto his knees. His face is shrouded in shadow, drawn with deep sorrow. Gold just stares, unable to do anything.

"Then, three months ago Ariana finally told me everything. She said Team Rocket was going to make a glorious comeback and that she wanted me to _join_ them. That my mother had always been too _weak_ , too _childlike_ to understand, and that's why they had never told her. And that's why, when she'd finally found out what her husband had been doing, it had been too much for her to bear."

"Silver, _I_ ―" Gold starts, but stops. There are no words.

Silver grimaces, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. "I ran away," he whispers. "I ran away with only one thought in my mind: I was going to _kill_ Giovanni and the rest of them. And for that, I needed more power. I had been a child, unable to understand anything, much like my mother. I needed to get stronger so I could avenge her. Make them pay for the things they did." He sniffles. "That's how I ended in New Bark Town. I had heard that there was a pokémon professor, who raised strong pokémon to give to trainers, and that was exactly what I needed. I was planning on stealing one of his pokémon, and then―"

His voice breaks off, and he looks up, straight into Gold's eyes. He has the saddest, most vulnerable expression, the corners of his lips raised into a small, joyless smile.

"Then I met _you._ "

Gold feels his own cheeks grow wetter and wetter. He has no idea when he started crying. All of that is irrelevant in the face of this―Silver's revelation, his suffering, _everything._ Gold wants nothing more than to hold him, to cradle him in his arms and never let go. But he feels rooted to his place, stuck beneath the white linens of the hospital bed, completely immobilized.

"And you asked me what I was doing and wouldn't fuck off even when I told you to," Silver continues. "And then we ended up fighting and getting caught and all that. And we were _given_ the pokémon. I couldn't _believe_ it."

He chuckles mirthlessly, lowering his gaze as he reaches for a package of tissues on the bedside table and grabs one before passing some to Gold. He accepts them wordlessly.

"And then Kris came along and she was― fuck, I don't know. Maybe she reminded me of mom, or something, but somehow I just ended up telling her everything. It didn't help, though. It just made everything feel more real, and I was still hell bent on revenge. With you, however, it was… it was like you were constantly questioning me, questioning why I was doing it all, telling me how stupid it was and that I wasn't going to win this way." He sighs. "You were right. And I think I started to believe that after a while, but with everything that happened in Mahogany, with how close they came to killing you, I lost all control. Reverted back to my original state. But I was still too weak. Just like you were too fucking stupid, running after me like that."

He fixes Gold a reprimanding look.

Gold has the grace to look chastised, but he still braves a small grin. "I'm sorry," he says. "I think I kinda lost my mind, too. Something about you just sets me off."

He then realizes a second later exactly _what_ he said and turns pink. Silver looks a bit abashed too, but more than that, worried.

"It's a problem," he mutters. "I learned my lesson. I'm not going to avenge anyone by turning into a monster myself, because that way I'm only going to get everyone I've learned to care about killed. But―"

He looks conflicted, fiddling with the hem of his shirt like what he plans to say next is somehow extremely difficult.

"I can't just let go," he says.

Gold feels himself go cold all over. "Silver―"

"I can't," he continues, cutting him off. "Not until I find out what happened to Giovanni. Not after I've spoken to him at least once."

He once again looks up, locking eyes with Gold. "We got some information out of the Rockets," Silver says. "Archer has been looking for Giovanni relentlessly for the past year. And it turned out that while they were trying to announce their comeback and invite Giovanni to join them with this stunt in the Radio Tower, they were also tracing the signals using some kind strange technology, seeing if they could find Giovanni like that themselves."

"So you're going to look for him then?" Gold asks incredulously. "After everything you just said about being stupid going off on your own, you're gonna set off and track down one of the most wanted criminals on the planet? I mean, sure he can be your father all he wants, but are you actually _insane_?!"

Against everything Gold believes in, Silver starts laughing.

"Shut the fuck up," he says after his laughter has calmed down. "Of course I'm not going alone."

Gold's head perks up. Is he going to suggest they go together? He can already see it―the amazing adventures they'll have, him and Silver, defenders of justice, the vagabond heroes hunting down criminals and evil-doers alike. And at the end of their mission, they'll find Giovanni and Gold will sock him for everything he did to Silver, and Silver will be so moved he'll realize his true feelings for Gold and then they'll make out and walk into the sunset together. Or something like that, anyways.

It's a beautiful daydream, but what Silver says instead is: "I've already asked Lance, and he has agreed to help me. That way we'll be able to bring Giovanni back, too, put him in jail where he belongs."

Gold's world comes crushing down. "But… what about _us_?" He asks. He sounds like a heartbroken girl, but can't bring himself to care. "What about the gym challenge? There's only a month left until the League Championships!"

Silver offers him a small smile, highly uncharacteristic of him. "Don't worry, I'll be there."

And then he does something even more untypical and leans in, wrapping his arms around Gold's shoulders and _hugging_ him.

Gold very nearly has an aneurysm with how fast the blood in his body rushes to his cheeks. And… _other_ parts of his body. Silver feels solid and warm, his scent filling Gold's nostrils. It actually feels like his headache is fading away, but that might also be because of the painkillers he's apparently still being pumped full, judging by the needle and tubes coming out of his arm.

"I'll meet you at the Indigo Plateau on the 30th," he whispers against Gold's neck, sending pleasant tingles down the boy's spine. "Wish me luck."

"G-good luck," Gold manages, fighting to form the words through his suddenly dry throat. "I'll hold onto that promise."

Silver draws away, passing Gold one last wry smile, and just like that he's gone. Gold stares at the door for a long while afterwards, trapped in his thoughts. Then, with nothing better to do, he decides to go back to sleep.

-x-

The next time he wakes up, it's different. There's his mom, who both yells at him and cries on him before apparently getting a hold of herself and fetching the doctor. He apparently had a bad concussion, caused by a heavy blow by Archer's pokémon. He was unconscious for a day and a half, before waking up for the first time for the chat with Silver, and had then slept a few more hours until now.

Everyone―and that really means _everyone_ including Whitney and the other gym leaders, his friends, Eusine, and even some of the Radio Tower Staff he'd helped save―had come to visit him while he was asleep. Besides his mom and Silver, who had apparently refused to leave his side even when the doctors had ushered his mother out of the room, the most regular visitor has been Lance, who apparently feels hugely responsible, and has already both begged for forgiveness from Gold's mother and offered to pay for all medical expenses. He was actually the one to personally fly Gold's mother from New Bark to Goldenrod, which Gold finds pretty surprising considering he'd think that the champion would have more important things to do in the wake of a goddamn terrorist attack.

Speaking of which, Gold obtains new information about the aftermath of the Radio Tower occupation when both Lyra and Kris finally come see him and he's awake to greet them. Lyra cries and hugs him, and even Kris gets a bit teary eyes, saying something about being sorry for all the times she hit him. Gold just laughs, because he's honestly already feeling better, and asks them to fill him in on everything.

There had been very few grave injuries and even fewer casualties in the whole thing, something that everyone is attesting to Leader Whitney's excellent work in stepping up and leading the counterstrike. She is already being rumored to receive the Surge Foundation's Golden Thunderbolt for her brave actions, but the girl herself keeps laughing it all off.

Kris tells him about how she and Eusine first helped the escaped hostages from the Radio Tower, and then hurried to free the ones still trapped underneath the Department Store, as per their advice. She had escaped the whole thing unscathed, but Eusine had, apparently, gotten caught in a stray gust and received some nasty cuts on his arm. Kris reveals that the man keeps insisting they only add to his manliness, and Gold can't help but laugh, even as Kris blushes.

They also talk about Silver and his decision to search for his father. Gold, with his clumsy whore mouth, somehow blurts out something about his stupid crush, and Kris just ends up looking at him like he's an absolute idiot.

"I've known the whole time," she says, completely unimpressed. "Since Olivine."

"Yep," Lyra pipes in. "She's been filling me in with your travels, and it's been _pretty_ obvious even like that!"

" _What_?" Gold gasps. "But― How _could_ you? Even _I_ didn't know!"

The girls both laugh at him, and he fumes, but he's also sort of happy that this is their reaction. He asks them if they think he has a chance, and they just share a meaningful look with each other and say that they'll let him figure it out on his own. Gold thinks it's kind of a dick move, but he can't make them budge, so there's that.

He and Kris also decide that they're going to pick up their journey as soon as Gold can get out of the hospital. Once the phone lines had gone back online in Goldenrod, Kris had called Pryce and the man had promised he would be up for a battle the moment they landed back in Mahogany. Gold's mom, of course, has a few things to say to their plan when Gold reveals it to her, but after the doctors assure her that he's going to be completely fine, as long as he doesn't hit his head even harder, she relents.

A day after he woke up Gold walks out of the building, clad in his new red winter coat and backpack, and Kris meets him with a smile and a wave. They say their goodbyes to Whitney and Eusine—and everyone else still in town—and then they climb onto their pokémon, speeding towards Mahogany Town.

As the wind blows through his hair, Gold thinks about Silver and his promise and feels like he's finally―finally, and for real this time―on top of the world. Even though things could go wrong any minute, and it's likely something will, he's still going to push through and overcome.

Just like Silver.

-x-

Beating Pryce with Quilava, who almost immediately evolves into a typhlosion after finally getting out of its ball after the long pause, is a real breeze. Gold hugs the now relatively large beast and laughs, while Pryce yells at him to come get his badge and bugger off. The old man's eyes are shining when he hands the badge over, however, so Gold thinks that he must be a little proud, and that makes him feel even better.

With Kris, the gym battle is a bit more shocking, when Pryce calls it off mid-way through, saying that he can see her potential, but that she won't be able to beat him, and it's unnecessary to continue. Kris feels grumpy about being given the badge after that, but when Pryce tells her that with her strategic style she'll likely wipe the floor with Clair, she brightens a bit.

They make quick work of clearing the Ice Cave, mostly because even with their warm coats and sleeping bags suitable for freezing temperatures it's too darn cold to camp out comfortably. After the time spent in Goldenrod, Blackthorn is almost like a culture shock with its rural feel and highly distinctive speech patterns and traditions. The town had been closed off from the rest of the region for many centuries before the dragon clan elders finally opened the gates to outsiders, joining the gym challenge and the League Championships. Since then they had produced many incredibly strong, long lasting champions. Clair had been champion for a few years before Lance stole her place the first time—he of course then lost to Red and disappeared for five years, before appearing again and beating Whitney for the title.

All that aside, Gold finds Blackthorn utterly charming. He adores the little houses with their intricate decorations, the mountain stream running across the town, the icy tops surrounding the village, and the people, holding themselves with calm dignity. The only thing he doesn't like is Clair Yamagawa's attitude. After grudgingly granting both Gold and Kris with battles and losing, the woman apparently blows a fuse, refusing to give them their badges.

"I'm not convinced," she snaps. "You're still too young and weak. I can't imagine what my cousin saw in you, but then again he's always been a bit off in the head."

Gold can sense that she's still bitter about her loss, even if it's been years.

"What the hell," he questions. "We beat you fair and square, now hand those badges over!"

Clair still refuses, insisting that she'll admit their victory only if they take the dragon clan elders' test and manage to clear it. Begrudgingly, more so on Gold's part, they make their way to the Dragon's Den. Only one person is allowed in the shrine at a time, so Kris enters first, Gold wishing her luck with two thumbs up.

While he waits, Gold trains his team, battling the strong pokémon in the cavern and toying with the idea of catching a new water-type. Technically his team is full, with Typhlosion, Noctowl, Heracross, Sunflora, Sudowoodo and― well. The red gyarados, which he still hasn't dared to call out of its ball. Because what if he's not strong enough? Gyarados are incredibly difficult to tame and they only respect trainers who show no fear in the face of destruction. Despite everything he's gone through during his journey, Gold's not sure if he actually _is_ that person, no matter what he might wish for.

After an hour or so, Kris emerges from the shrine a confused but happy look on her face, and a little blue wyrm slithering by her ankles.

"They gave you a _dratini_?" Gold gasps, jealous beyond all belief. "Shit, that's amazing!"

"Just go in," Kris shoos him.

Feeling just a bit agitated, Gold walks in, followed closely by Typhlosion.

The room is huge, decorated with beautiful old ornaments, and foggy from all the smoke from the burning incense. A pair of monks approaches him, gesturing for him to follow. Gold does as he's told, muted with awe and wonder.

He's lead to round pedestal in the middle of the room, overlooked by a balcony where at least ten, if not twenty, wrinkly old men and women are watching him like a hawk. Gold swallows nervously, calling Typhlosion back into its ball, before stepping onto the pedestal.

The weird thing is, afterwards he remembers mostly nothing about what happened inside. He remembers being asked questions, answering them almost automatically with nothing but honesty. He later finds out that there are some strange herbs in the incense they burn that force the speaker to tell the truth, no matter what. He also recalls one of the questions being: "What are you afraid of?"

A great many things flash through his mind then, his mom dying, he himself dying, losing his friends and pokémon, all that. But the one thing that really stands out in his imagination is Silver's figure, hurt and betrayed, turning and walking away until the image bleeds into a swirl of red, reforming as the sight of the great red serpent, crying out in rage.

"Being rejected by the one I love," he remembers replying to the question. "Being too greedy and losing them."

One of the old people, a grandma with twinkling eyes, had then stepped forward.

"Go on," she had said. "Confront the beast."

At Gold's apparent hesitation, she had smiled encouragingly.

"Believe in yourself. If you truly are the person you say you are, nothing can go wrong. And until you are, you may never find true happiness."

At that point, Gold had thought something like _'oh, fuck it'_ and reached for his belt, throwing up the one ball he had barely touched during the past week. With a flash and a startling roar the red gyarados had emerged from its prison, curling around Gold like a snake around its prey. It had stared into Gold's eyes and Gold had stared back. And then it had let out another ear-piercing cry and, to Gold's surprise, bowed its head down for Gold to touch and pet.

It probably goes without saying that he passed the test, with flying colors. The elders don't gift him a dratini though, saying that he already had a companion worthy of belonging in legends. Gold finds it fair, all things considered.

He also finds it fair when the oldest of the dragon clan elders accompanies him and Kris to the gym and gives Clair a piece of his mind about trying to bully them by sending them to the test. They receive their badges, Clair admitting her defeat, and head out to a local café to celebrate with cakes and hot chocolate. With only three weeks to go until the championships and new party members to train, they agree to take the mountain trail down to New Bark, where they can both prepare comfortably.

The next morning, Gold says goodbye to Kris (for now) and knocks on his mom's door, receiving the tightest hug of his life. He walks into his room for the first time in months and takes in the poster covered walls, the red linens on his bed (fresh, because his mom has been changing them even as he's been gone), and all the things he'd left behind. Remembering his last night here, with Silver, he's overcome with a strange bittersweet nostalgia―like he can't quite remember what kind of a person he was before he became a trainer, met Kris and fully, and truly, became Silver's friend.

His eyes land on the shelf of figurines, noticing the empty spot where his prized, limited edition figurine of Red's Charizard should've been.

He smiles.

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** There are just two more chapters to go (well, actually three, but the third is shorter than the others), so I'm super excited!

Also, if you're wondering, Gold, Silver, and Kris started their journey in August, around the same time kids in Johto usually start their school year. In the Johto school system there's a mandatory "trainer year" at the end of their compulsory education (at age 15-16), where children must spend the year learning about pokémon somewhere (they can either try their hand at the gym challenge or get themselves an internship at a pokécenter, or any pokémon related establishment).

The professor has a program people apply for, and Gold and Kris were chosen from amongst the applicants, while Silver just… happened to be there (he was supposed to spend his trainer year differently but, as you know, things happened), and Elm saw the chance to do something to help the kid. The professor expects them to fill out the pokédex and write a scientific report on everything they experienced. Gold's actually pretty smart, even if he is a bit rash. But anyways, at this point in the story it's already December. The League Championships are always held during the last days of the year.

As always, thanks for reading! Let's see how this will all end!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Gold spends two weeks in New Bark, training his pokémon and spending time with his mom. He visits Professor Elm, who seems pleased with how he's spent his time as a trainer so far, wishing him luck for the championship. He also reminds Gold that he should spare some more work on his pokédex, like Kris, instead of only focusing on battling. Gold promises he'll try, fully aware that he's not going to do it. There's a knowing expression on the professor's face, however, so probably he already knows as much.

Gold spends Yule with his mother, the two of them preparing a delicious meal and blasting out holiday carols from their speakers at full volume. Even Gold's team gets its share of the delicacies.

Later, when they're all settled in the living room and Gold's mom turns on the television to watch the evening news, he receives a shocking awakening. The number one story of the night is, after all, Team Rocket Boss Don Giovanni's capture. After the seven years he'd spent running away from the police, this is apparently a grand celebration. On the TV screen Champion Lance Yamagawa beams at the cameras, recounting his version of the capture. He doesn't mention Silver even once by name, but at the end of his speech he says: _"We couldn't have done this without a certain anonymous helper, who contributed majorly into the operation. So, thank you."_

The next morning, Gold packs his bag once more and sets out to the east.

The surfing trip on the back of his red gyarados passes smoothly, the beast scaring away even the more powerful pokémon living in the sea. Gold holds onto its neck, grinning wildly at the few googly-eyed trainers they pass along the way.

He finds himself in front of Mt. Mortar, shivering in the cool Eastern breeze. After Mt. Silver, the mountain in front of him is the tallest in both Johto and Kanto, situated exactly at the border. There's a huge network of tunnels running inside the mountain, perfect for getting lost. That is also where Giovanni had apparently spent his time hiding, before finally being found.

Gold swallows, stepping inside the tunnel. The journey from the Johto side to the Kanto side is simple and straightforward, guided by signposts, so it's not like Gold's going to actually witness the maze where the criminal boss had lived. It still feels kind of exciting, though not exactly in a good way, to walk down the dim pathway.

At the other end of the tunnel there is a figure, black against the sunlight coming from outside. Gold lifts his hand to shield his eyes, expecting some random stranger, a trainer on his way to the league just like him.

Instead he sees Silver.

By Gold's side, Typhlosion lets out a happy growl of recognition, running ahead to greet the boy. Silver looks up then, startled by the sound, and finally notices Gold approaching. He looks surprised, barely bracing himself for the impact of Typhlosion butting against him. Silver's golbat drops down from the ceiling where it had apparently been resting, letting out a high warning cry for Typhlosion.

Gold jogs over. "Silver!" He shouts, lips turning up. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, well," he says, hesitant. "I was training, I guess."

"You guess?" Gold asks dubiously, looking around. "Doesn't seem like much of a place for training to me."

Silver scowls, turning around and marching out. "Well, that's your opinion."

Gold yelps in surprise, running after him while making sure that Typhlosion and Golbat are following too. "Wait up― have you got all your badges already?"

Silver slows down slightly. "Yeah," he replies, breathing out heavily. "Luckily I had some time during the investigation."

"Great!" Gold grins. "So, you wanna head to the Indigo Plateau together, then?"

Silver spares a look at him, his lips twitching slightly. "Sure."

As they walk, Silver slowly opens up about the events of the search and finding and capturing Giovanni. From his tale, it becomes obvious that it been a tedious process, full of twists and turns both literally and figuratively. Gold tries his best not to prod too much, practicing his patience like a saint. Or at least it feels that way, but he still can't help but ask:

"So what did you say to him?"

Silver bites his lip, an unreadable look in his eyes. Gold feels very worried for all of the five seconds it takes for the expression to disappear from his face, replaced by a weak, conflicted smile.

"I asked him if me and mom never meant anything to him at all," Silver says. "If he ever even felt sorry."

"How'd he take that, then?"

Silver tilts his head back, staring at the sky. Golbat and Noctowl, whom Gold had released from its ball, are circling in the clear blue far above them. Gold watches Silver's face, searching for any sign of anger or discomfort. Strangely, he finds none.

"He said that during the six years he spent on his own, not a day went by that he didn't regret everything," Silver says. The words are carefully neutral, devoid of all the sadness one might've expected with such an admission. "And I know he was telling the truth. But he still left, still caused more sorrow by letting his underlings try and hold onto his impossibly twisted and stupid dream. That makes me mad, but―" Silver pauses, sighing. "Maybe I'll be able to forgive him, some day. For now, I'm just trying to let it go. It helps to know that he'll be sitting behind bars, where I can always find him if I need to."

Gold hums in agreement. "Sound good to me," he says. "And now you can concentrate fully on being my slightly less awesome sidekick."

Silver looks at him, offended. "Sidekick?" He asks, indignant. "I'll wipe the fucking floor with you!"

That outburst makes Gold grin wildly. "Yeah? I'm looking forward to it, then!"

The boy doesn't reply, just stares at Gold like he can't quite believe him. Then, almost involuntarily, his lips start tugging up, and he lets out a soft chuckle.

"Right," he says, smirking teasingly. "I'm not even surprised that you like getting on your knees."

Gold sputters, immediately turning red. " _Wha_ ―?"

"C'mon, idiot, the Victory Road Entrance is right there," Silver says, cutting through his most definitely undignified bumbling, pointing at something in the distance. Sure enough, Gold can barely make out the cavern entrance, guarded on both side by magnificent rhydon statues. "The last one there has to carry the loser's bag!"

And with that shout the redhead takes off, running faster than Gold ever thought him capable of. Swearing under his breath he sprints after him.

"You fucking cheated!" He yells. "Asshole!"

Silver just laughs, because he knows at this point Gold won't be able to catch up. And sure enough, he isn't. But even though he keeps insisting that the whole competition was rigged and that Silver is a dirty cheat, he still carries the boy's bag all throughout the rest of the day.

-x-

Three days later the boys emerge from the darkness of the Victory Road, battered and beat and more than a little tired. They make their way to the gates for registration, after which they are guided first to the pokécenter and then to the hotel reserved for all the participants. The common rooms are full of nervous and excited trainers from both Kanto and Johto, some chatting with others, some tending to their pokémon, some just staring off into the distance.

On the second floor, they run into Kris. The girl hugs Silver long and hard, only releasing him when the boy starts complaining about not being able to breathe. When Gold points out that _he_ didn't receive a hug, she just flips him off, saying that they should find their room because she has better things to do than chit-chat with them. When Silver asks her about it, she only reveals that she's on her way to meet up with Eusine, who had also qualified to partake in the championships this year, and the two of them were going to check out the stadium and the battle arenas. Gold comments that it sounded an awful lot like a date, earning him a dirty glare to accompany the once more raised middle finger. She truly is the embodiment of poise and grace.

Finding their room turns out to be much harder than either Gold or Silver anticipated. The hallways are long and full of already occupied ones, which makes them think that this year's tournament brackets will be _huge_. It doesn't matter though, because they've already decided together that they'll be the ones making it to the top. They'd registered themselves in different brackets on purpose, because only the winners of each four brackets would be advancing onto the elite four matches on the second day.

Finally, they manage to find their room on the third floor. It's a nice one at that, spacy with big windows and good furniture. The only problem with it is that instead of single beds there is only one huge, king-sized bed inside.

Silver just takes a look at it and shrugs. "As long as you don't kick in your sleep, I'm fine with this."

Gold feels his eyes bulge slightly. He doesn't understand how Silver can be so cool and indifferent about it, when he's here sweating bullets, praying to both Mew and Arceus that he'll survive the night. But then again, Silver doesn't have a rapidash-sized crush to burden him, while Gold has been suffering even with Silver sleeping three meters away during their time on Victory Road. He feels like by now he's embarrassed himself more than just a couple of times, and the worst part is that the stupid fluttering feelings are _not_ going away, even as he realizes the futility of the whole thing more and more with each passing second. Silver most definitely isn't in love with him, and he probably never will be, with how Gold can't keep his mouth shut for five minutes to _not_ insult him.

Maybe that's why Kris didn't say anything about Silver's feelings. She must've known how utterly hopeless Gold's predicament is and thus wanted to spare the remains of his pride.

They leave their belongings in the room and head downstairs. After three days of having Typhlosion follow him, lighting their way in the darkness of Victory Road, Gold feels slightly awkward not having the beast close by. Then again, the hotel hallways are narrow, and having such a large beast out of its ball would be the perfect recipe for disaster, so Gold lets it be.

There is a restaurant area in connection to the hotel, which Gold knows from past televised championships will be transformed into a beautiful banquet venue for the post-championships celebration after the last matches. The banquet is held every year, regardless of whether the two regions have received a new champion or not, and Gold is already rather looking forward to it. Of course, in his mind's eye he can already see his own name in shining lights as everyone congratulates him on his awesome victory. Even Silver is there, fawning over him and finally realizing his undying love for Gold as they kiss before flashing cameras.

In reality Silver is calling his name for what appears to be the third time, looking mighty irritated. Gold might have to stop daydreaming if he wants to at least remain friends with the redhead.

They eat and meet up with Kris and Eusine and spend the rest of the day chilling and resting, preparing for the matches to come. The night passes surprisingly smoothly, despite Gold's initial fears, and at least he can now hold onto the memory of Silver's scent lingering on his sheets when he has to return to his own, lonely bed.

Yeah, he's really gone off the deep end as far as Silver's concerned, but he decides he doesn't care.

The next day, the matches start early, but Gold realizes rather soon that in his own bracket it will all be a breeze. Only one of the other contestants seems somewhat noteworthy, and unsurprisingly at the end of the day it's him and the guy facing off in the final match, Gold taking the victory by a mile.

Silver faces a bit more challenge in his bracket, but he too clears the game without much of a problem. Kris and Eusine, however, are not as lucky. Eusine manages only one win, before his team gets sweeped by a girl with a skarmory. She ends up winning the whole bracket, earning her chance to challenge the elites. Kris fares a bit better, getting to the final match, but she is then beaten by a Kantonese boy with an all normal type team. She doesn't seem too down about it, saying that she actually expected something like this to happen.

Gold pats her on the shoulder, saying that it was only fair she was bad at something, seeing how she was smarter than all of them combined. For once, she doesn't hit him or give him the stink eye, only accepting the words with a soft smile. With a sudden thought, Gold realizes he's actually made some really good friends.

 _So much for being the kid that no-one likes_ , he thinks, and trails after the others to find someplace to celebrate his and Silver's victory. Silver pauses to throw a look over his shoulder.

"Are you coming?" he asks.

Gold suppresses a shudder, head filling with inappropriate thoughts.

"Yeah."

He only hopes he'll be able to keep them all.

-x-

The next day, it's time for the semi-finals, the matches against the elites, and Gold wakes himself and Silver up early so they can check the battle order. It turns out Gold will face the ninja clan leader Koga in his first match, while Silver's opponent is going to be the psychic type-user Will. It also appears that they are on the opposite sides of the bracket, which means that both of them will also have to beat their second opponent before they get to face off against each other. But that's okay, Gold didn't come here to lose, anyways. He fully intends to beat Koga, his second opponent, _and_ Silver, so that he can face Lance in the victory match. _Except―_

Right then his thoughts wander back to the legendary final match from seven years ago. Back then, Red and Green had managed to clear their way to the second to last match, the one that was supposed to decide which one of them got to face the champion.

It had been Lance back then, too, hadn't it? He'd beat his cousin Clair the year before, and as a champion he was about to face one of the two youngest contestants the League had ever seen, Green being 11 and Red only 10 years old.

But the worst part was― that hadn't happened. Because Green Oak, being the single most cocky 11-year-old to ever walk the face of the earth, had made a public demand to the Elite Four that both he _and_ Red get to challenge Lance, and for _some_ reason the elites had accepted. So instead of fighting just one contestant, Lance had fought them _both_ , and lost not one but _two_ times. And then, when Green and Red faced off in the unofficial championship match against each other and Red won, the boy became a _legend_.

Gold had watched it all from TV, being 8 years old at the time himself. He still remembers how cool Red had been, all silent with the wind blowing and the red and white cap covering his eyes as his charizard let out a column of fire. Even know, he shivers at the memories, gazing at Silver and wondering if they too could be as cool as those Kantonese rivals.

Silver gives him a quizzical look in return. "Did your brain freeze, or what?" He asks.

Gold scowls and decides that Silver doesn't deserve such glory, even if Gold still can't force himself to stop crushing on the asshole.

The morning passes in a blur Gold and Silver preparing for the challenge to come with Kris prepping them mentally, and sooner than Gold would believe, it's already time for their matches. Gold is actually the one to start it all, facing off against Koga in the very first semi-final battle. Right before it's his time to head out to the stadium, Silver walks to him.

"Don't lose," the boy says, flashing him a crooked smirk. "I'll be the one to beat you, alright?"

Gold snorts. "In your dreams."

He watches Silver for four seconds in silence, before surprising them both by reaching for his shoulders and pulling him for a quick hug.

"Thanks," he mumbles into Silver's hair, more than a little embarrassed. "I'll do my best."

He ends the hug just as fast as he started it, promptly turning around and marching up to the podium reserved for the challenging trainer. He doesn't want to let the redhead see how much he's blushing right now.

The first thing he sees are the blinding, flashing lights, and for a moment he can't see anything else. Then, gradually as his eyes become accustomed to it, he begins to see the arena, the whole stadium, and the thousands upon thousands of people watching and cheering. It really makes him feel small.

Across the arena, Koga stands on another podium, stone-faced and silent. He's a seasoned battler, and facing him like this Gold feels, for the first time since starting his championship matches, somewhat unsure.

The announcer's voice booms above them, introducing Gold to the audience as he fights down the sudden, unwelcome wave of nervousness. He glances back behind him, catching Silver's eyes amongst the people watching from the waiting area. Silver looks calm, self-assured, as he smiles at Gold. Somehow that alone is enough to make Gold feel less nervous.

The match begins with the sound of a gong reverberating around the stadium. On command, both Koga and him send out their first pokémon, an ariados for the poison master and Noctowl from Gold.

 _Alright,_ Gold thinks to himself as he lets a manic grin replace his earlier worried pout, _let's see what you've got._

-x-

Despite all his worries, Gold's first match passes with no major problems, Noctowl and Typhlosion taking down most of Koga's team while Sudowoodo finishes the match by taking down his crobat. Gold feels giddy with excitement as the announcer calls out his name as the official victor, and he half-runs, half-skips back to the waiting area, high-fiving both Silver and Kris.

There's only a ten-minute pause before the next match, and soon enough it's time for match number two. This time it's the girl from Johto, facing against Elite Karen. The girl doesn't fare as well as Gold did, but she manages to get a few good hits before her team is ultimately taken down. Karen is announced the winner, which means that Gold will be facing her in his second match.

In the third match, the Kantonese boy faces much the same fate against Bruno, losing after taking down half of the fighting type master's team. It was to be expected, with how unlucky he was to face Bruno, of all the elites, with his normal types.

And then it's finally Silver's turn.

"Hey, Silv," Gold calls out as the boy is stepping to the podium.

The boy turns, eyebrow ticking with annoyance at the resurfaced nickname. Gold had almost forgotten he didn't like it. _Almost._

Gold grins. "Break a leg."

Silver doesn't reply, only smirks before turning away and walking to the podium. He's sure of himself, it seems, no sign of pre-match jitters. Gold could probably learn a thing or two from him, which really drives it in how far they've come if Silver's the one showing an example to Gold.

Silver's match against Will is remarkable, a true clash of titans, but right from the start it is painfully clear that Silver is going to win. Eventually he does, his gengar finishing Will's second xatu with one final shadow ball.

Kris hugs the boy, congratulating him on his win, and Gold only feels slightly jealous. He knows he shouldn't, but he really can't help it. The feeling only evaporates when Silver raises his eyes and grins at Gold, saying something cocky that Gold doesn't exactly catch, being too captivated by the dimples on his cheeks. Silver doesn't seem to mind―or notice, for that matter―but Kris spares him a knowing look. Gold shakes it off, clearing his mind. He has to stay focused for the second match.

As Gold steps back onto to podium, the crowd greets him with a roaring cheer. Gold grins, meeting the eyes of his opponent across the arena. Unlike Koga, Karen doesn't remain silent.

"Tell me, challenger, what are pokémon to you?" She calls, her voice carrying surprisingly well over the noise. The acoustics of the place are a real miracle.

"Um," Gold says. "My… friends?" He really doesn't know what else to say, but it's true.

Karen smirks. "Well then," she says. "Let's see if you and your friends can take me."

And with that, the battle is on, the sound of the gong ringing as they both send out their first pokémon. This time Gold starts with Typhlosion, wanting to make a lasting impression. Soon enough, the arena is engulfed in flames, and momentarily Gold feels as invincible as he imagined Red to be seven years prior.

Karen is strong though, even more so than Koga. She somehow knows how to command all her pokémon to the absolute best of their abilities, never faltering even as her pokémon fall.

It takes a lot, but in the end Gold finally beats her, Umbreon falling to its knees before Gold's heracross.

"Well done, challenger," Karen says, as she calls back the black fox. "You seem to understand― strong pokémon, weak pokémon… none of that matters. A truly skilled trainer will battle alongside the friends he loves."

Gold nods, a bit befuddled but nonetheless moved by her words. He waves at the crowd, walking away from the stadium and passing Silver on the way. He gives the boy two thumbs up, wishing him luck for his match against Elite Bruno. Silver ignores him, but probably not because he doesn't care. He's just― really, _really_ focused. His eyes are steeled and his jaw is set. He almost looks like he's going to war, a soldier ready to rain down destruction upon his opponent.

It makes Gold feel a little hot all over, not that anyone has to know.

The match begins with the sound of the battle gong, and Silver calls out his first commands. He's starting with Alakazam―a smart move if Gold were asked―who unsurprisingly brings home the first K.O. swiftly and efficiently. He manages another, before the psychic-type succumbs to Bruno's only non-fighting type, Onix. Silver sends out his huge Feraligatr, and the crowd goes wild. Gold realizes that the boy must've come this far without even using his _starter_.

A cold chill runs up his spine. Silver is _amazing_.

The match goes pretty well from there, Silver switching his Feraligatr for Golbat after the rock snake is dealt with. When Bruno's final pokémon, Hitmontop, falls to the ground, Gold pumps his fist in the air, letting out a victorious laugh. On the arena Silver is grinning, waving slightly at the thousands of cheering spectators around him.

Golbat flies a victory lap around the stadium, before landing in front of its trainer. And then, the pokémon suddenly begins to glow.

Gold can almost hear the confused _"What the―"_ that escapes Silver's lips as his bat pokémon becomes fully engulfed with light, morphing into a wholly new creature with four purple wings and a high, piercing cry. _Crobat evolves with happiness_ , Gold thinks and almost feels his heart burst with how proud he is.

Eventually, the announcer calls out Silver's victory officially and the crowd cheers as Silver steps down from the podium. Gold runs over to greet him, gushing about his performance. He can't help it. Silver brushes him off, embarrassed. It only makes Gold all that much fonder.

Also, in the back of his mind, he realizes that next he will get to face Silver in the so-called silver match, as funny of a coincidence as that is. Silver seems to realize it too, with how he watches Gold a little more keenly than before, as if calculating his strengths. Gold grins and drags him off to eat during the longer pause, while they prepare the arena for their match.

He can't wait.

-x-

Right before it's time for Gold to walk on the podium the nerves hit him like a focus punch in the gut.

He feels dizzy and nauseous all of a sudden, making him regret the extra milkshake he'd had during lunch. This is, indisputably, the moment of truth: his first real match against Silver since freaking Azalea Town. So much has happened since then, but in reality it has only been a few months. It feels surreal.

It doesn't help that this match will also decide which one of them gets to challenge Lance. Lance, his one and only other idol besides Red.

Gold wants to win so bad it almost _hurts_.

He swallows, fighting back the butterfrees swarming in his stomach. It doesn't matter what he wants, if he doesn't get a grip of himself soon it'll be all for nothing. So he really need to concentrate.

Five minutes before, Lyra had called him, excited almost to the point of tears. Then it had been Gold calming her down, saying that it was gonna be okay and that he was going to do his best. Now, though, he kinda wishes he could hear the girl's chipper voice, just so he would have something else to focus on but his own thoughts of inevitable failure.

 _No,_ he scolds himself. He can't think of it as failure.

It's true― if he gives it his all and still loses, that's not his loss, but Silver's victory, no matter how little he would like to give it to the boy. If Silver wins, it'll be fair and square, he decides.

And then he doesn't have time to think anymore, because the officials are signaling at him to start walking, start climbing up the stairs to the podium and into the view of the screaming fans. On the other side of the stadium he sees Silver, looking just a bit dazzled. Maybe he's feeling it too, the pressure.

Gold flashes him a smirk over the battlefield, making a thumbs down gesture. Silver's going _down_. For his part, Silver sneers, signaling back that he's going to snap his neck. _Murderous bastard_ , Gold thinks fondly.

The announcer's voice sounds out loudly above them, introducing them both to the world. And sooner than Gold would believe possible, the sound of the gong reverberates in the stadium once more, loud and all-encompassing.

Gold and Silver throw out their first pokémon. For Gold, it's Sudovoodo. For Silver, it's Crobat.

Gold feels a rush of elation, grinning wildly at his luck. With this typing, he's bound to have a strong start. He quickly yells out his commands, calling for a stone edge. Crobat avoids it just barely, crying out it's sonic wave attack, trying to confuse Sudowoodo. The rock-type staggers backwards, but luckily snaps out of it without taking any damage. The next hit lands, taking down the poison-type bat.

Gold pumps his fist in the air, letting out a victorious laugh. The first K.O. sends a powerful message― he really means business. So does Silver, who sends out none other than his starter, Feraligatr. Gold swears, calling back Sudowoodo, switching to Sunflora.

It turns out to be a mistake, as the frail grass-type is almost immediately crunched between the alligator pokémon's icy teeth. Gold swears under his breath, calling back the fainted grass-type.

Back to square one, it seems.

He sends out Noctowl, because despite the danger of the ice-type attacks, the bird is nimble and fast, managing to land a few good hits. Silver calls back his starter before Gold really manages to take it out though, sending out Magneton. How typical.

Unfortunately, Gold trusts too much in his luck as he dares a hypnosis, the attack missing by a hair's length, and Noctowl succumbs to the lightning bolt striking it down from the sky. Gold swears louder then, because this is most definitely not going according to the plan.

All is not lost though, he thinks, and sends out his ace, his best buddy right from the start, Typhlosion. Silver isn't fast enough in calling back his Magnemite, and so Typhlosion's fire blast finds it target. Silver looks a bit frazzled as he sends out his next pokémon, much to Gold's immediate pleasure. At least he's not the only one shaken by this battle.

The next type match-up is fire versus psychic, with Typhlosion going up against Silver's alakazam. It's going well for Gold, until Typhlosion is hit with a critical psychic, sending the fire badger reeling and giving the alakazam a much needed break for using recover. After that it only takes one more hit for Typhlosion to come tumbling down.

Gold feels a cold and heavy dread settle in his stomach as he sends out Heracross. The bug and fighting- type at least is fast and strong enough to take down Alakazam. Somewhat surprisingly, Silver next sends out his sneasel, and for a moment Gold thinks that he'll have another easy victory against the dark-type weasel. It turns out he has no such luck, when the sneasel hits his little bug fighter lightning fast, as if coming from all directions at once. Heracross manages to get only a few good hits, before its out of the game.

Gold bites his lip nervously, brought down to his last two pokémon.

He sends out Sudowoodo again, luckily managing to quickly level down the competition, bringing Sneasel down with a fast super-effective stone edge. Silver's next pokémon is Gengar, the poisonous ghost sending shadow ball after shadow ball rolling down the stadium. Unfortunately, it's only a matter of time before one hits Sudowoodo, sending the poor rock-type flying.

Gold takes a deep, shuddering breath.

Now it's all up to his trump-card, his final pokémon, the beast he has refrained from using even once during this whole tournament. He wanted to win against Silver without using it too, but alas, he has no other choice.

He throws the ball, a flash of red and a roaring cry signaling the appearance of the great, red serpent.

Distantly he hears the crowd going wild, the announcer's surprised narration filling the air. All of that is secondary, though, to the reality of the battleground. He calls for a crunch, Silver's ghost-type getting caught between the huge teeth of his gyarados. It's over in seconds.

Now it's one on one, the tables turned back to Gold's advantage, since his pokémon is healthy, full of rage and vigor. Silver visibly hesitates for a second, throwing out his pokéball with a sort of desperation Gold easily recognizes.

He's laying it all on the table.

Gold smirks, barking out his command. In only a few moments, the arena begins to resemble a small lake, water sloshing against the sides. In the midst of it all the two water-type pokémon are clashing, equal in strength and might.

Gold thinks Feraligatr must be getting tired though, the alligator's feet slipping and punches landing with less and less power behind them. He feels invincible then, calling out Gyarados' next move. And then―

Something happens.

In one second Gyarados is preparing its attack, neck drawn back and mouth wide. In the next, Feraligatr's teeth are digging into its flesh, an immobilizing coldness spreading from the bite. Gold yells and screams, and the serpent trashes wildly, struggling out of the alligator's grip. But try as it might, it's stuck, with no hope of escaping.

Gold watches the fight tone down, light fading from the beast's eyes as it relaxes, blacking out in front of him and thousands of onlookers. As it heavily falls to the ground, Feraligatr finally lets go, raising its head in a mighty, victorious growl.

 _"AND THE WINNER IS… SILVER CAMORRA!"_

In that moment, all Gold can think of is:

 _Fuck._

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** I hope at least some of you were surprised by these Championships results, because I know _I_ was. From the start, I honestly had planned for Gold to win, like he does in the games, but then something just… made me decide otherwise.

By the way, Silver's team is based on his team at Mt. Moon in the games, but I wanted to have his golbat evolve into crobat to show how far he's come, so it's a bit different from then too. I'm so proud of my ginger son. *sniffles*

Next time there's gonna be a bit more battling, partying, and maybe even some long awaited revelations! Stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Gold has no time to meet Silver in between the end of their battle and the start of the championship match, no matter how he tries to sneak into the challenger's waiting area. He only manages to catch a glimpse of Silver's back, disappearing up to the podium. Disappointed, Gold moves to the side where he can watch the final match undisturbed and be the first to meet Silver afterwards.

Lance gives a speech before the battle, as champions traditionally do, but Gold is much too jittery to concentrate on anything he says. He only wants to know the outcome of this match, preferably now.

He's in luck, it seems, because in the end the match is actually quite short―much shorter than Gold and Silver's own match. Soon enough, Lance is down to his final pokémon, Silver still having both his starter and Gengar in fighting condition. Feraligatr's ice fang proves victorious in this match as well, and then they are announcing Silver as the new League Champion.

That's when Silver raises his hand and slowly lowers it.

Gold's eyes bulge. He can't believe it, did Silver _just―?_

 _"WHAT A TWIST, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! SILVER CAMORRA HAS REFUSED HIS OFFICIAL POST AS A CHAMPION! IT WOULD SEEM THAT DESPITE HIS LOSS LANCE YAMAGAWA WILL CONTINUE HIS REIGN FOR ANOTHER YEAR!_

 _That fucker,_ Gold thinks. As soon as Silver gets down from the podium, Gold rushes to him.

"What the _fuck,_ Silver?" He yells, grabbing a hold of the boy and shaking him. "What the shit did you do that for?"

"Ow, fuck, stop it!" Silver responds, shoving him off. "I just don't wanna be the champion for real, is that so hard to understand?"

Gold lets out a groan. "Then why the fuck did you have to beat _me_ , you insufferable _twat?!_ " He demands answers. "I _wanted_ to be the champion!"

Silver stares at him for a second, before a wicked grin spreads on his lips. "Oh, that?" He asks dismissively. "I just wanted to put you back into your place."

The only thing that stops Gold from strangling Silver to _death_ that very moment is the fact that Lance and Kris arrive at the scene and having so many witnesses would be majorly inconvenient.

That, and he's also kinda turned on by Silver's douchery. Because he is, apparently, a lunatic.

"Good match," Lance says, shaking hands with Silver. "Are you quite sure about your choice?"

Silver accepts the handshake gracefully. "Yeah, I have other things to do than sit here, answering calls from concerned citizens."

Lance chuckles. "Believe me, kid, the job's actually much more than that," he says. "But you have the right to refuse. Just remember that champions who have abstained from their duties have a much harder time applying for gym leader positions and such."

"I'll take that risk," Silver mumbles.

Kris congratulates him too, Gold fuming on the side the whole time they exchange pleasantries. Soon after that, Silver is whisked away, because even though he refused the official post he _is_ still recognized as the league champion and is, as such, all the craze in the eyes of the media.

While he's off, Gold and Kris make their way to the hotel, both deciding to calm down some before it's time for the official post-championships party. Gold takes a shower as he waits for Silver, changing into the straight black pants and red dress shirt he'd brought along solely for this purpose. Just as he's fixing his hair, Silver opens the door, looking slightly worse for wear.

"Hey," Gold says. "Tough ride?"

"You could say that," Silver mumbles, bee lining for the bed and flopping down on it.

Gold snickers. "Serves you right."

Silver is silent then, only speaking up after a significant amount of time has passed. "You're not actually mad, are you?"

Gold startles. "That you won?" He asks. Silver nods. "Fuck no! I lost, Lance lost, and you won―that's the simple truth. Now, if you'd asked didn't I want to win, then of course I did! I still do, and you can bet I'm gonna! I just didn't win today."

Silver looks thoughtfully, rolling onto his stomach on the bed and pushing himself up. "That's… good to hear."

He sounds honestly relieved, like he'd been worried for Gold's ego or some shit. Gold smirks. "Besides, I can always beat your scrawny ass in a real fist fight."

Silver snorts, pulling his shirt over his head, and digging for a new one in his bag. "Yeah, right."

The only reason Gold doesn't say anything to that is because he's too distracted by Silver's naked back.

They finish getting ready mostly in comfortable silence, Gold occasionally breaking it with a comment about this or that. After Silver manages to get his hair into some kind of a messy bun, they head downstairs, where the party is already starting, trainers arriving in small groups. Immediately as Silver steps into the banquet hall, everyone wants to talk to him. But almost as much, people want to talk to Gold, who finds himself somewhat unprepared for this kind of response.

He lost, didn't he? He'd already admitted as much and made plans for gaining revenge, next year. But even so, the people are swarming him, both from the press and otherwise, asking him where he learned to battle, where did he find such a rare pokémon as the red gyarados, are he and Silver best friends― or more?

Admittedly, the last question makes him blush and declare that he's not going to be taking any more inquiries for the night.

He goes to get himself snacks and, after a lengthy consideration, one sneaky glass of champagne. He sips it by himself in the corner, avoiding TV cameras, just so his mother doesn't get a whiff of his crime. Luckily, by the time Silver beckons him over so they can give some kind of joint interview for the people watching from home, Gold has managed to down the whole drink.

He feels a bit drunk as he answers the questions, trying to act as natural as possible. Silver looks at him oddly, and after the camera crew thanks them for their time and leaves, he asks him why the hell he's acting so weird.

Gold leans closer, whispering into his ear conspirationally: "There's an open bar."

Silver looks scandalized and refuses to let him anywhere near the buffet tables on his own from then on.

Sometime later they run into Kris and Eusine, but the two seem to be in the middle of some kind of secretive conversation, giggling into their glasses, so they decide to let them be. They head out to where Lance is instead, noticing as they come closer that he's a) with Whitney, and b) very drunk.

"Heyyy," Lance calls out as they approach him carefully. There's a healthy inebriated flush on his cheeks, and he's smiling just this side of too wide. "If it isn't my kiddos, how're you guys doing?"

"How much have you drunk?" Gold asks, eyeing him suspiciously.

Whitney snorts. "Just a few glasses, really," she reveals. "I've never met another person with as terrible tolerance as this guy."

"And yet, I'm forced to drink," Lance utters sadly, hiccupping at the end of his sentence. He looks miserable like somebody had just kicked his lillipup.

Silver covers his smile with a hand.

"Congratulations on your victory, by the way," Whitney says, raising her glass at the boy. "It was well deserved. You have a certain strength in you, that I don't think many people have."

Silver mutters his thanks, averting his eyes in embarrassment. Gold pipes in, steering the conversation towards the food choices in the party and other safer topics. Whitney seems to notice, but doesn't comment on it.

After a while of chatting with the woman, someone announces that it's time for the first dance of the night, a long held tradition in the Championship banquet. Usually it's between the new champion and whoever they wish to dance with, but since officially Silver had abstained, it's a part of Lance's duty.

Lance's, who is completely and utterly sloshed.

As the announcer calls for the champion Whitney groans, taking a tight hold of the dragon tamer and dragging him to the dancefloor. Somehow, their dance manages to not look completely disastrous and actually kinda presentable, even if Lance is slightly slouched over his shorter partner the whole time. Gold applauds at the end of it, more at Whitney's tenacity and strength than the show itself.

The dance floor is opened for others and in the mixing and mingling, Gold momentarily loses sight of Silver, finding himself near Kris once more. This time the girl has more time for him, and they talk for a while, until Gold finally spots his redheaded rival on the other side of the hall, slipping away from the party.

Curious and a bit concerned as to why he would leave, Gold follows after, dodging the remaining well-wishers with some excuse or another. He has more important thing to do than to stand there being gawked at. As he's leaving, Kris catches his eye amidst the crowd. She smiles at him, lifting her glass in a toast. Good luck, she seems to be saying, although Gold doesn't quite know what for.

Maybe she's expecting him to confess, or something? The thought makes him feel far too hot and slightly nauseous, and he promptly decides to think about anything but that.

He finds Silver in an empty hallway some way off, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, oddly serene. Gold feels a pang of longing in his chest, the emotion making his breath hitch momentarily. Silver is _so_ ―

Just then, the boy opens his eyes. Gold snaps back to attention, waving awkwardly at the redhead. "Hi."

Silver frowns. He probably sneaked away in order to be alone, and here he is, ruining the plan. Great job, Gold congratulates himself, but forces himself to keep walking despite the strangely swirling feelings.

"Fancy seeing you here," Gold says, as he stops walking, leaning against the wall next to the other boy. "Come here often?"

He's vaguely aware that he's using the cheesiest possible pick-up lines to catch Silver's attention, which—probably not a good idea? Or maybe it is, since Silver seems to be amused, smiling just slightly.

"Only when I beat the championships," Silver says, flashing him a cocky smirk. Gold would feel irritated, but Silver looks too handsome to care.

"Right," Gold says instead, lowering his eyes to the floor. "Congrats."

Silver hums, recognizing the words as a genuine compliment despite the way he said them. A comfortable silence falls between them, only broken by the subdued sounds of partying coming from the banquet hall. After a minute or so, Gold opens his mouth again.

"So, what are you gonna do now?"

It's the million pokédollar question. Whatever Silver says now will define where they go from here.

Silver doesn't reply for a while, letting Gold wait so long that he's almost about to ask again.

"I don't know," he finally says. "I feel like—like I've already achieved everything I _can_."

The words are but a sigh, his whole posture looking somehow defeated. He's slumped forward, and a strand of red hair has escaped from where the rest of it is tucked behind his ears. It hangs tantalizingly in front of his face, catching Gold's attention. He kinda wants to reach out and pull it, and that makes him think of pig-tail pulling, which then makes him promptly stop that trail of thought where it stands.

"You still have the pokédex to fill," Gold reminds him, like Elm had reminded him.

In all honesty, it's nothing more than a desperate plea for Silver to stay with him. To keep traveling with him to Kanto, to Sevii Islands, anywhere at all as long as they can stay together for five months more, until they'll have to return to New Bark, return their reports, and decide what they're going to do with their futures.

He already knows that he'll be returning to the league next year, to beat Lance like he rightfully should. But since Silver already declined his right to the champion's post, Gold really has no idea what he plans.

"Yeah, maybe," Silver says, sounding doubtful. "But that's not really what I want."

"So what do you want?"

"I—" Silver huffs out a breath, half a laugh half frustration. "I'm not sure... Ever since my dad left and mom—well, you know—I've been drifting. I used to dream of running away, when I lived with Ariana, but I never had the courage. After all, I still had a home, I still went to school, and communicated with people, even if I didn't really have friends. So I figured I'd wait until school was over, until the trainer year."

He shakes his head then, lips pulled into a disbelieving smile. "I wasn't going to take the league challenge, actually. I was going to spend it at the Trainer school, in Violet, with all the rich kids who don't like getting their hands dirty."

Gold can't help his surprised snort. "What, really?"

Silver nods. "Ariana took me there at the end of August, and that's when she told me everything. She told me that after Team Rocket's successful come-back, she and dad would come get me and they would teach me to battle for real. I told her to go fuck herself." He holds a meaningful pause. "And that's how I found myself in New Bark a few days later, planning to steal a totodile. I'm glad that that didn't work out, either."

"Yeah, you've got only yourself to thank for being the worst burglar _ever_ ," Gold comments, earning a half-assed kick in the shin and a smile.

"Shut up, I totally could've done it, if it weren't for you," Silver mutters, voice laced with dry humor. He sighs, the gust of breath making the lonely red strand jump into the air momentarily, before landing back on his forehead. "Thanks, for that, by the way."

"No problem," Gold replies. "I'm always _dtf_." He wiggles his eyebrows before clarifying. "Down to _fight_."

Silver chokes on a laugh, going a bit red. Gold snickers, secretly more than a little happy that the joke had gone down well.

"Anyway," Silver says. "The point is, that even when I thought I found my purpose in all that revenge bullshit, I still didn't have any kind of plan for anything beyond that. And even as I tried to follow my plan—we traveled, beat gyms, caught pokémon, all that—I still felt like something was missing. Like, even with all I was given, I had _nothing_. Like I _was_ nothing."

"Silver, I—" Gold begins, but the other cuts him off.

"I know, it's fucking stupid," he snaps. "But I can't help it, okay? And so even now, there are moments when I feel like all I want to do is disappear."

Gold goes cold all over.

"No," he says. "Don't you fucking _dare_."

Silver looks at him, brows burrowing. "I _know_ ," he repeats. "And I'm not gonna, I'm _not_ my fucking _dad_ , okay?" His breath begins to shudder. Gold thinks that it's all horribly ironic, and Silver must realize it himself.

"But then I began thinking... maybe I should like, travel alone for a while? Find whatever is missing, find some kind of purpose? Because being with Kris... being with _you_ , I always feel like, _fuck_ ," he covers his face in his hand, breathing hard, "like I'm not good enough? Like I'm just mean and bitter and you're _so_ —"

"What the fuck," Gold says, because really—what the fuck?

Silver peeks at him through his fingers. His face is red, but his eyes are dry, even if he looks both miserable and angry like never before. Even the strand of hair seems to be hanging there limp and void of joy, but maybe Gold's just projecting.

"Why the fuck are you raising _me_ on such a pedestal?" Gold asks, voice a bit raised. "I'm so _what_? As if _I'm_ not lost and confused all the time? As if I know what I'm doing a year from now? The only reason I sent my application to Elm for this thing was because I couldn't think of anything else!"

He knows he's yelling by now, and he doesn't even know why. Maybe he's hurt? Maybe he's just scared shitless by the idea of Silver leaving? Actually, that's probably it.

"Well at least if you fucking fail, you have a place to return to!" Silver yells back. "I don't _have_ that! I _want_ to have that! When I try to think of times when I've felt like I belong, like I know that no matter what happens I'll be alright, those time have all been with _you_! And that fucking hurts, because I know that I can't keep hanging onto you, we can't always be together like that, and when you wanna leave, I'll have _nothing_ and nowhere to go."

Once again Gold feels like he's being doused in ice-water. "Wait," he says. "Why not?"

Silver falters. "What?" He asks. "Because my parents are either dead or in prison and you and Kris are the only friends I have, you ass?!"

Despite everything, Gold laughs. Silver is bright red and he looks so insulted and confused and utterly _adorable_ , being forced to lay his heart out like this. Gold wants to reach out and pull him into his arms and preferably _never_ let go. Which brings him to his next point—

"No, why can't we stay together?" He asks. "I don't wanna leave you. I probably never will. I'd rather stay like this forever, than lose you."

It's a simple truth, and Gold feels somehow relieved saying it out loud. His inner cynic, however, keeps whispering that they're both 16-years-old, they barely know anything about life, and how cliché is it to claim that you've found your one and only when you're _oh, so young_. But then again, the careful optimist in him is much louder, saying that this is the case now, we'll never know if it's actually true unless we _try_.

Silver sputters, his blush darkening almost impossibly. "Do you even get what you're saying?" He asks.

Gold nods. "Of course."

He pushes himself off the wall, taking a few steps so that he's standing directly in front of Silver. There's a hot rush of feeling as he takes note of the way Silver looks kinda trapped between him and the wall, his fingers twitching as if looking for something to hold. Gold would volunteer as tribute, but can't find the courage to do so.

Not _yet_ , anyways.

"You obviously don't," Silver snaps. "You don't mean it like— _shit_."

He looks away, biting his lip. There's obviously something he wants to say, but can't bring himself to. Gold frowns. What could Silver _possibly_ —

Wait.

 _WAIT_.

Gold's eyes bulge out slightly as he mentally tries to process the possibility of Silver meaning what he _thinks_ he means. That Silver could actually, for real, have the same kind of romantic interest in him as he has in Silver.

 _What the hell, honestly._

"I don't mean _what_?" He croaks up, voice much more careful than before. "What do _you_ mean?"

Silver makes a face, looking majorly uncomfortable. "Forget it."

"No, what he fuck?!" Gold exclaims. "There's no way, just spit it out!"

The redhead visibly squirms, eyes darting left and right, looking for an escape. In a surge of strange bravery, Gold leans forward, planting his hands on either side of Silver. On the bright side, this means that he's effectively blocking Silver's way out. On the down side, it means that they're suddenly very close to each other, breath's mingling as Silver looks up with wide eyes. Everything else in the world somehow dims out, leaving behind just the two of them in this intimate, private moment.

Gold swears that if he's wrong, he'll never live this down.

"Do you trust me?" Gold asks softly, when Silver still remains silent.

The boy nods.

"Then trust me when say that it's alright." Gold can't help but grin, suddenly giddy. "That we're on the same page here."

Silver lets out a shuddering breath. "Okay."

Gold smiles, leaning even closer until their foreheads are pressed together. Up that close he can once again notice the beautiful stray strand of red hair.

"Hey," he says, unable to keep his thoughts in any longer. "I like your hair."

He expects Silver to sputter, to be embarrassed, and to deny it.

Instead, the boy snaps _(SNAPS!_ ): "Yeah, _right._ "

Gold blinks, feeling both insulted and _terrified_ — did he have it all wrong?

But then, before he has time to panic and draw away, Silver smirks, challenging.

"Prove it, then."

Gold stops thinking. " _What?_ " he yelps.

Silver's smirk grows wider. He looks so good Gold almost can't believe him to be real.

"You heard me."

And really it's all Gold can do to grab a hold of Silver's face, tilting his head and crashing their lips together.

As far as first kisses go―not that Gold has much experience on those, as much as he'd like to claim otherwise―it's far from perfect. The angle is a bit awkward and Silver's lips are too chapped and there's too much force at first, until they both ease into it.

Even so, the pressure feels nice, and when Gold draws back for a second to breathe Silver just whines low in his throat, wets his lips with his tongue, and follows him as if he can't have enough now that he's had a taste. And after that it's just… _good. Really good_.

At some point Gold twines his fingers into Silver's hair, holding him in place, and Silver worms his arms around Gold's waist. He keeps pushing, forcing Gold to step back, to open his mouth more, to grip Silver's hair tighter, and never in his wildest dreams had he believed Silver to be so― _so_ aggressive. Not that he's had many wild dreams. There have been a few at most, certainly no more than ten. And they weren't actually very wild, to tell truth. In fact, they were rather tame, so that even doing this much is pushing the boundaries of his imagination.

 _Anyway_.

He's really getting sidetracked, and Silver's pushed his tongue inside Gold's mouth and that—that feels kinda weird, doesn't it? But in a good way, and _oh_ ―that would be his back hitting the wall. Wasn't Silver the cornered one before? Silver's still not backing off, and why should he be, because this is all really fucking _amazing._ Silver is all warm and solid against him, fingers ghosting trails on Gold's skin. He has no idea when they'd slipped past the hem of his shirt, but it's okay cause it's giving him a strange tingly sensation that's somehow making him all hot instead of ticklish, and he really, _really_ wants to stop overanalyzing everything right about _now_.

So he does.

With his brain shut down, Gold ends up making out with Silver for far too long and it's really a miracle that no stray partygoer happens to catch them all flushed and breathy and lip-locked. Eventually they do have to stop though, which leads them to discover what happens after you've spent the past fifteen minutes kissing your rival-turned-friend senseless. Mostly it's awkward, but luckily it's also like twenty-percent funny in a giddy sort of way, which ensures that after the kissing has stopped and they've both tried to figure out what to say by staring at each other and then pointedly looking away for two and a half minutes, their eyes happen to lock and they both burst out laughing.

"So, what now?" Gold asks after he's recovered a bit, chancing a brief glance into Silver's direction. They're both leaning against the wall now, side by side like before, and the redhead has his eyes closed with an uncommonly calm expression gracing his features.

"I don't know," Silver replies. Then: "We should go."

"Back to the party?" Gold frowns. He really would rather not.

Silver snorts, shaking his head like he almost can't believe Gold would ask that, but then again he sort of _can,_ and it doesn't make it any less funny. Gold would be affronted if he didn't currently feel like a hot air balloon about to burst. "No, to our room."

"Oh, right," Gold says and deflates slightly. That does seem like a reasonable plan to begin with. He pushes himself off the wall, skipping a few steps and throwing a querying grin over his shoulder. "Well, you coming?" he asks, reaching back to offer the redhead his hand on a passing fancy.

The big surprise comes when Silver simply takes the hand, clasping their fingers together and brushing his shoulder as he walks past, dragging Gold along as if it's all easy and natural. His ears are burning though, Gold triumphantly notices, taking comfort in the fact that he's definitely not to the only one so strongly affected by this turn of events.

-x-

It's almost a miracle when they manage to reach their room without meeting anyone―except one gloriously drunk trainer and his meowth, who most likely won't remember passing them the next day―on the way. Once inside, awkward silence settles on them like falling dust, slowly but surely. Silver moves further into the room, slipping out of Gold's grasp and going to get a glass of water from the bathroom. Gold fidgets by the doorway, eventually deciding to sit down on the edge of the bed. It now feels kind of exciting, and also a bit scary, if he's being totally honest, that they're going to be sleeping in the same bed.

 _If_ they're going to be sleeping, his brain provides helpfully. Gold groans, burrowing his face in his hands, hoping for a swift death before he completely embarrasses himself.

When Silver finally returns from the bathroom, Gold looks up and cannot help smiling. It must look so freaking dumb, because he's not even sure how he's supposed to feel, much less how he _does_ feel. Mostly okay, neutral even, but then he remembers the press of Silver's lips against his, and his stomach does approximately two-hundred somersaults before he can even get to the 'worrying about the future' -part.

"Hey," he breathes, eyes never leaving the boy's. "You look good."

And there he goes with all that embarrassing, lovey-dovey nonsense.

Silver―bless his ghostly ginger complexion―blushes. "Flattery will get you nowhere," he grumbles.

Gold pushes away his own awkwardness and grins.

"Oh yeah?" He says teasingly, leaning back slightly. "My recent experiences beg to differ."

Silver averts his eyes. "I meant in the long run."

That makes Gold sober up some. Silver's expression is overcome with embarrassment, but there's a slight hint of hesitation and confusion mixed in there. Their conversation from before is not forgotten, and even if they both agree that they _want_ to stay together, it's not always that easy. They still have nothing more but this feeling, no matter how strong it may be, to go with.

"How far are you planning on running, then?" Gold asks, neutral in tone. He doesn't want to scare Silver, but he needs to know if this is enough—if Silver still wants to go off on his own, or if he's willing to try _together._

Silver hesitates for a moment. "I― as far as you'd like, I guess," he finally says, releasing the words like a breath, a small, unsure smile on his lips.

He walks over to the bed and places his glass on the nightstand, before sitting down next to Gold. Gold pulls him closer, circling his arms around Silver and propping his chin on his shoulder. He absolutely cannot believe his luck.

"Well," he starts, humor creeping into his voice. "Only the sky's the limit, babe."

The reaction is immediate, Silver swatting him away. "Don't call me that!"

"But Silv!" Gold cries, resisting the boy's attempts at pushing him away.

"Don't call me that either!" Silver complains, still swatting to the best of his ability.

Gold decides that he's not going to take this, and tackles Silver to the bed, the boy releasing a quiet _'oomph!'_ as his back hits the mattress. Gold climbs half on top of him, to prevent him from immediately getting up.

"You're not being fair!" He whines. "I gotta have some dorky nickname for my one and only _boyfriend!_ Anything else would be unthinkable."

Silver flushes as red as his hair, mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. Gold smirks.

 _Success._

"How about honeybun sweetcheeks?" He suggests. "Ginger dreamboat? My sexy red devil?"

Silver lets out a laugh that kind of sounds like he cannot help it.

"You are absolutely unbelievable," he says, rolling his eyes.

"But that's why you love me, right?" Gold asks. It takes him approximately 0.5 seconds to realize what he just said, at which point his smile _freezes._ "Oh fuck, _do_ you love me? Do you even wanna be my boyfriend?" He asks, panic rising into his tone. "I really hope so, cause I love _you_ and it would probably crush me if you leave me now, when everything was looking so good. I mean, I've survived all those other times, but then you weren't really leaving _me_ , exactly, so it's not the same... so if you walk out that door, you'll probably wrench my heart right outta my chest and I mean, you gotta do that if that's what you wanna do, but―"

"Gold, stop!" Silver all but yells.

"S _topping!"_ Gold squeaks. "I'm stopping, I _have_ , as you can see, _stopped_."

He holds his hands in the air, rolling off of Silver and falling onto his back. "Please don't hate me," he says with a helpless smile.

Silver lets out a huff of air, partially in amusement, partially in disbelief. "Really… I never could hate you," he says. From his words, Gold gets the distinct impression that it's _not_ for the lack of trying. "Not when I felt so fucking drawn into you since day one. I thought I was going _insane_." Silver groans, the last word drawn and exasperated. "I gave up trying to deny I was in love with you some time after Olivine. And I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone."

He spares Gold a murderous look. Gold chuckles.

"Ouch, temper, babe," he says. "But really?"

Silver huffs. "I won't repeat it."

"Okay." Gold smiles. "That's okay."

There's a natural lull in the conversation, both of them staring silently at the ceiling, occasionally sparing glances at the other. After the third time their eyes meet accidentally, Gold rolls back towards Silver, rising up, so that he's towering over the boy, grinning down at him.

"So, if that's all you wanted to say, can we make out now?" Gold asks.

Instead of replying, Silver reaches up, grabbing a tight hold of his shirt, pulling him down for a kiss. It's not like they've got it all figured out, but it's a promise, kind of. That they'll try and get through this, try and create something both of them can hang onto.

And when Silver moans into his mouth, biting his lip in a way that sends a jolt of pleasure straight to his― _well_. Gold figures they'll be alright.

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** FUCKING _FINALLY_. I'm so happy that my boys are finally _together_ together. *cries teenage tears*

And….. the next chapter will be the last. It's going to be a bit shorter than the rest, wrapping everything up into a neat package. I'm posting it soon (maybe even later today), so you won't have to wait as long this time!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The next morning, Gold wakes up with his limbs tangled with Silver's and his mouth full of red hair. He also really need to piss, so groggily he wriggles out of the pile and pads towards the bathroom. Once he's relieved himself, he stares at his own face in the mirror for two full minutes, trying to see if he looks any different now that he's become a _man_.

He doesn't, no matter how hard he looks.

He returns to the bedroom, mildly disappointed, only to find Silver up and awake, gathering his clothes from the floor clad in his underwear. Gold does the only smart thing one can do in such a situation and slaps him on the ass, jumping face first back into the bed as Silver lets out and indignant yell.

While he waits for Silver to come back from the shower, he lazily pulls on his clothes and digs out his pokégear from his jumper pocket, where he'd discarded it before the party yesterday. He grins to himself, scrolling down the numbers to the bottom and pressing dial.

The device beeps only twice before his mom's voice sounds from the other end:

 _"Honey! I saw your matches on TV, you were amazing!"_

He pushes down the faint tinge of frustration. "Thanks, mom," he says drily. "I didn't win."

 _"Oh, shush you!"_ His mom exclaims. _"There are more important things in life than just winning… and besides, you can always try again next year!"_

Gold lets out a breath, smiling. "That's right," he agrees. "And it's also kinda why I called you." Down the line she makes an interested sound. "Actually, mom, I sorta― have a boyfriend now."

For a second it's silent. Then―

 _"Oh my goodness! I'm so happy for you, darling!"_ She gushes, and he can practically see her squeeing with joy. _"Who is it, is it someone I know?"_

"Yeah, it's… um. It's Silver."

 _"Oh, I just knew it!"_ She laughs. _"He was just so kind and well-mannered when you brought him over that one time, right before you left. And when you were in the hospital he refused to even leave your side. It was so sweet, I knew something was going on."_ Gold wonders what is it with everyone knowing about him and Silver before he even gets to tell them. He also, on principle, disagrees with her calling Silver _kind, well-mannered_ , and _sweet."You should bring him over, I want to be properly introduced now that you're dating!"_

"Yeah, I'm gonna," he promises. "Sooner rather than later probably, since I don't think we have much to do here anymore." From the bathroom, he hears Silver turning off the faucet. "But I'll call you when I know when exactly we're coming, alright? Happy New Year, mom."

 _"Happy New Year, dear,"_ his mom says, smile audible in her voice. _"Say hi to Silver for me!"_

He ends the call just as Silver steps out, towel around his waist and another one wrapped around his head like a turban. The boy raises an eye at Gold.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Just mom," Gold replies. "She said hi, by the way. And she wants us to come over."

Silver hums, walking over to the pile of clothes he'd prepared earlier. "Sure," he says. "It's not like I have anything else to do."

Gold releases a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Great," he says. "Maybe we can leave today, then."

Silver makes a non-committal sound of agreement, pulling on his clothes. Gold feels fond, somehow, thinking that they'll be going back to where it all started. Call him a closet romantic, but he finds it somehow meaningful to be bringing Silver into his home again.

Lost in thought, he stares at Silver, imagining all kinds of scenarios in his head on how their meeting with his mom will go.

Silver, on the other hand, just throws his jumper at his face, asking if he's going to gawk stupidly all day.

 _Oh, Silver― such a charmer._

-x-

The rest of the morning passes in a comfortable, relaxed haze. When they head down for a (very) late breakfast, Kris corners them in the cafeteria, asking where the hell had they disappeared to from their own party. Silver avoids the questions, somehow managing to escape with his hurried excuse of getting some scrambled eggs. Gold is not as lucky, and Kris grabs him by the forearm, dragging him down on her level and hissing in his ear:

"Did you fucking screw it up?"

"What no!" Gold cries. "Far from that."

She hums thoughtfully. "Good," she says, releasing her grip on him. "So you're dating then? Congrats. If you hurt him, you'd best believe I'm coming for your ass."

Gold rubs his arm, nursing away the faint pressure. "What are you, his _mom_?" He immediately winces. "Okay, sorry, I'm glad Silver wasn't here to hear that."

Kris glares at him. "Oh really?"

Gold sighs. "Yeah, I don't wanna hurt him," he promises, subtly looking around to make sure that Silver's still a way off. He is, and he seems to be checking out the juice options. Gold thinks that he too could use some oran berry juice right about now. "So, don't worry. I know I'm pretty hard to deal with, but so is Silver, and for some inexplicable reason we just _work_ together." He swallows, fighting back the emotions swelling up his throat. "I've… I've never had someone like that, Kris, and that's why I never wanna _lose_ him."

He looks down at the girl, feeling naked under her gaze. Her eyes are round, expression somehow both soft and stoic.

"I hope you never do," she finally says, a small smile cracking on her face. "And I really am happy for you _both_. You deserve each other."

The last line is said with sardonic humor. Gold snorts, shoving her playfully. "Thanks."

Silver returns soon after, Gold going to find some food for himself, too. They eat, Kris sitting with them and the three of them chat about what kind of things they're going to do next. Kris is, predictably, going to keep filling the pokédex, but other than that, she reveals that she's made plans to travel to Kanto with Eusine. As to why, she blushes (which is a small miracle in itself) and then she says:

"To catch Suicune," she says averting her eyes. "Eusine says he needs me because Suicune seems to have developed some kind of interest in me... I'm actually kinda excited."

"Oh sweet baby Jirachi," Gold says, butting Silver continuously with his elbow, wanting to alert him to this tremendous discovery. "She's a closet _furry_."

That earns him a painful kick under the table.

After that, the conversation turns to any tentative plans Gold and Silver might have. At first, Gold feels at loss, because like he'd told Silver the previous night, he honestly has no idea about his future. But soon he begins to think about it in another way. This is his chance to do _whatever_ he wants. Any kind of pipe dream he might have, now is the time to try it.

And as Silver spills his careful ideas about traveling some more and revisiting Blackthorne, (since on his own he'd only dropped in, beat the gym, and flown away,) Gold's thoughts turn to none other than his childhood hero, Red.

Red, who's completely disappeared from public eye, ever since he left the Indigo Plateau without a trace. Back then his family and friends refused to give out any information on his whereabouts, if they even had any, but it's known that his mother still lives in Pallet and that his rival, Green Oak, is the gym leader of Viridian City.

If someone were to look for Red, those would be the places to start.

Gold bites his lip, looking between Kris and Silver. Then, coming to some kind of a conclusion, he clears his throat.

"I was thinking," he starts. "There's actually something I wanna do, that I need your help with."

"Aright, what's up?" Kris asks, looking curious.

"It's kind of a… shot I the dark, really," Gold admits. "So don't laugh."

Silver snorts. "We'll try."

Gold glares at him. "I just— I want to find _Red_."

A deafening silence falls between the three of them.

"Red," Kris deadpans. "As in Red Pavot, the lost champion?"

Gold nods.

"Wow, um..." Kris falters. "That's—"

"Really stupid," Silver finishes. "Let's do it."

There's a sort of fire in his eyes when Gold meets his gaze.

"Really?" He asks, honestly surprised, because he expected the name-calling, _not_ such an easy agreement.

"Yeah, sure." Silver grins wryly. "I helped find one of the most sought-after criminals on the planet, I'm sure I can help you find one missing teenager."

Gold barks out a laugh, and thinks that only Silver would think about it like that. He loves him a little bit for it.

-x-

They spend the rest of their brunch discussing possible leads. The first thing on the list (before even Pallet and Viridian) is, of course, going to see Lance.

They find the champion—and Whitney, to no one's surprise—in his own living quarters, clad in his bathrobe and way hung-over. The man is still happy enough to see them and invites them inside, offering them soda pop and biscuits. Both him and Whitney, who's actually fully dressed, listen to their ideas with calm expressions, taking it all in. And after they're finished, Lance looks up at Whitney, who's lounging against the couch he's sitting on, and shrugs.

"I've always wondered what happened to that kid," he says, a sad smile on his lips. "He was so young and _so_ exceptional, even I could see that despite being young then myself… And the media loved his story, took to it like a venomoth to a flame. It wasn't such a surprise when he disappeared, he seemed like a smart kid. The only problem was that he didn't actually abstain from the champion's duties properly, so I had already taken off by the time they found his note. And then, when they couldn't find him and couldn't reach me, because I was off in Sinnoh by that point, they had to ask Green Oak to be the champion." He sighs. "Gods, that is a real black spot in the history of the League."

"So you don't know where Red went, then?" Kris asks.

Lance shakes his head. "Not more than you do," he replies. "Home probably, but when they finally came looking for him, he wasn't there and his mother drove them away. Nowadays she claims she never saw Red after the championships and that she doesn't have any idea where he is… she even wrote a book about it."

"It's a good book," Gold pipes up. He has read it at least four times.

Lance chuckles. "I don't doubt it," he says. "I'm just not sure how much of a truth value it has… Of course, it wouldn't hurt meeting her, but I feel like a more reliable source could be Green Oak."

Whitney nods. "I talked with him last year during the annual meeting between Kanto & Johto gym leader's," she says. "You can see that he's incredibly smart, but there's something off about him. It seems rather likely that he might be hiding some information."

"Alright," Gold says. "Viridian it is, then."

With some semblance of a plan thought out, they part ways, promising to keep in touch about the topic and otherwise. They head back to their hotel rooms to collect their remaining belongings, regrouping in front of the hotel twenty minutes later. Eusine is there too, chatting enthusiastically about legendary beasts and where to find them. Gold and Silver share a knowing look, holding in their snickers under the threat of Kris' glare.

The four trainers make their way to the Indigo Plateau gates together, to the compass between Kanto and Johto, which is where they say their good byes. Kris and Eusine are heading east to Kanto, while Silver and Gold will continue south. Just for a moment, Gold eyes they West Gate, wondering about Mt. Silver, where only champions are allowed to enter. Then he lets the thought go, deciding that next year, when he has beaten Lance, they'll visit the place.

He follows Silver outside, and together they rise to the skies on their pokémon, heading beyond the hills and the sea, where New Bark lies waiting.

-x-

Standing on the shore of his home town, Gold thinks back to his and Silver's meeting. Their story had begun with a series of mistakes, but in the end, it seemed like it nothing _that_ bad had come out of it. Logically, he knows that they aren't at the end yet, and they still have all the chances of everything going horribly wrong. But still― he kind of feels like he's winning.

As they're walking towards Gold's house, he remembers another detail from their first meeting, which then makes him nudge Silver gently with his elbow.

"Hey," he says, "you'd better return my Charizard figurine."

Silver frowns. "Your what now?"

"My Charizard figurine," Gold repeats. "You fucking stole it that first time you were over. It was limited edition."

Silver scrunches his eyes, before suddenly a guilty look dawns on his face "I…" he starts. "I may have traded it away."

Gold's heart stops beating. "You _what?!_ " He screeches. "It was worth at least 10,000 pokédollars!"

"Yeah, um," Silver mutters. "You remember how I got these shoes from an old guy in Cherrygrove, since my old ones were pretty busted?" Gold nods, confused as to what this has got to do with anything when they have such a crisis in their hands. "I gave the figurine to him, as thanks."

Gold's stomach drops. "That, _fucking―!_ " He cannot believe it. "No wonder the old guy was so keen on spewing all that mumbo-jumbo crap about being kind! He had just cheated you out of a fucking collector piece, and in return for what― _old shoes?!_ "

"Calm the fuck down," Silver says. "And stop accusing him, he most likely didn't even know about the figurine's real worth any more than I did. We can go to Cherrygrove tomorrow and try and track him down. You'll get you damn figurine"

"No I won't," Gold moans. "It's lost! _Forever!"_

Silver sighs. "I'm regretting ever coming here."

Gold hides his smile in his hands, mock-crying into them. "And now even _you're_ leaving me," he whines. "We haven't even dated for a _day!_ "

"Shut up," Silver says. "Look, we're at your stupid house, so get your act together, idiot."

Gold lowers his hands, realizing that they are, indeed, right in front of his home.

"Great," Gold says. And immediately he realizes something: "I forgot to call mom ahead of time."

Silver rubs his eyes. "Oh for fucks sake," he swears. "If this ends in a fight, it's all your fault."

"Probably," Gold admits and looks up at Silver.

Silver's hair is still the prettiest color Gold has ever seen, and he still looks like a damn creep, just like on that day Gold found him sneaking in Elm's petunia bushes. Silver cocks his head to the side, looking quizzical.

"What?" He asks.

"Nothing." Gold grins. "Just thinking that punching you was the best mistake I've ever made in my entire life."

Silver just stares. And stares. And s _tares._ And then, slowly, he turns red, much like his hair, and Gold thinks: _ah, yes. This is perfect._

"That's the worst thing _I've_ ever heard in _my_ entire life," Silver says. "Please stop."

"You still love me right?" Gold asks. "Faults and all?"

Silver groans. "For some unimaginable reason," he looks at Gold, honesty in his eyes, "I do."

Gold doesn't say anything after that, just keeps grinning as he rings the doorbell, a sort of a warning to his mom. The day passes and so does the next, and he still keeps grinning. They never find Gold's Charizard figurine, but eventually, after relentless searching, they do find the owner of the real pokémon it was based on. They even find their own purpose in life, something to hang onto when everything else is gone, just like they'd promised each other they would. But all of that comes later, after ups and downs and all kinds of terrible and amazing adventures. And through it all, one single truth remains:

Some mistakes are meant to be made.

 **End**

-x-

-x-

 **A/N:** I'm so happy I could cry. Thank you for reading, this has been such a joy to write, even if it has taken me far too long. I already have an idea for a continuation piece, but I feel kinda hesitant to start working on it since I have so many unfinished wips already. I _am_ hoping to get more writing done this year, maybe during the summer, but I can't say for sure how much that'll be. The only thing I _can_ promise is that no matter how long I might be gone, I'll never stop writing pokémon fanfiction!

Thank you and good bye (for now)!

Endles


End file.
